Thursday, July 31, 2008
CAMPBELL RIVER — The steady patter of raindrops on our camper roof greeted us this morning, and the rain has continued in varying intensities throughout the entire day. It was a day to do indoor things as much as possible, and fortunately we had a couple of things on our agenda to fill the bill.
Before the rain got too oppressive, we stopped at a small municipal park next to the shore where we had passed a collection of wood sculptures several times during our stay here. They are part of an annual driftwood sculpturing contest — although the wood being used appears to be more like large stumps from giant fir trees than driftwood! There were about 20 sculptures done with varying degrees of professionalism; in fact there were two categories of entries, professional and amateur. They reminded me of the snow sculpture contests we used to have during Winterlude in Ottawa. Once the sculptures are judged, they become the property of the town, and the outcome of previous years’ contests are on display throughout the town — eagles and mermaids, horses and bears, mythical creatures and fairytale characters.
We left the park and headed off to have a good look at the town of Campbell River, meandering down its streets and discovering that it is quite a bit larger than it seems when looking at the map. The land rises fairly steeply from the shoreline, so houses several streets back from the water still have a pretty good view, but beyond the slope are a number of neighbourhoods and subdivisions. The population of Campbell River is around 30,000, so it covers quite a bit of territory.
The Maritime Heritage Building was another "must-see". Its claim to fame is the original BCP 45, the fishing boat that was featured on the back of the Canadian five-dollar bill between 1972 and about 1986. A very nice gentleman named Boyd Van Engen was our volunteer guide, and because we were the only two in his party for the tour, we got an extended and expanded version of the normal spiel. Boyd is 73, sports a seaman’s beard and lively bright eyes, and brings a wealth of seamanship to his work as a museum guide. One of his colleagues kidded him at the end of our tour, saying once he learns to speak English he might be a pretty good guide. We enjoyed his Dutch lilt as he explained the painstaking work of restoring BCP 45 from the state of dry rot it was in when the community acquired it. The initials stand for British Columbia Packer, as the vessel was a salmon-fishing rig for a packing company. A team of six men, headed by the retired Buford Haines, set to work restoring the boat in 2003 with white cedar donated by a logging company and a lot of elbow grease and love. Haines passed away in 2007, just a year after this magnum opus was completed.
Boyd explained a lot more than the boat on our tour. We learned about the magnetic north pole, about tides in the Georgia Strait, and about the significant threat to shipping that a huge submerged rock presented in the early years in the strait. Some 170 vessels were shipwrecked when the swift current drew them into the narrow area where the rock was situated some seven meters under the surface. Finally, in 1958, a crew of engineers and miners plotted the destruction of Ripple Rock with great precision and lengthy preparations that involved tunneling through the rock to place explosives in such a way that the rock would be destroyed, but the resulting debris would not impede subsequent navigation. CBC television cameras positioned in several places along the shore recorded this explosion that, at the time, was the largest non-nuclear explosion the world had ever seen. We were able to view this massive display on a TV screen at the museum. The project was a great success and the now-open Discovery Passage has been a boon to the ever-growing shipping industry ever since.
Our tour, which was supposed to be a mere half-hour, lasted three times as long, and we enjoyed every minute of it! We thanked Boyd for his generosity and headed out — still in the drizzle — to the camper for a bite of lunch. Next to the Maritime Heritage Building is the Discovery Pier, that stretches out and runs parallel to the shore several feet out. People can rent fishing rods and fish from the pier, and a photo album near the rental office shows pictures of the amazing catches that have been had at that spot — salmon up to 40 pounds or more! On our visit, we saw some impressive wads of seaweed coming up at the end of some fishing lines, but that was all. I picked up a cup of hot chocolate at the snack stand to warm my hands and insides, while other customers walked away with newspaper cones filled with steaming fish and chips.
We thought we might take in a movie on this rainy afternoon, but after finding the theatre, which we had passed earlier in the day, we discovered that on weekdays in July and August there is only one matinee at one o’clock and we had arrived in time to see people leaving the shows. Oh well.
After a rest back at our campground, we donned our rain gear and walked over to the Salmon Point Pub and Restaurant for a lovely dinner of salmon with crab and shrimp sauce, baked potato and colourful veggies, followed by a Tiger Brownie (white and dark chocolate) drizzled in caramel and chocolate sauce and hot mugs of tea. A nice final dinner before we wrap up our holiday tomorrow, heading back to the mainland and flying home on Saturday.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Island hopping II
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
CAMPBELL RIVER — For the second time this trip, we left Vancouver Island aboard a ferry and headed for a couple of islands in the Strait of Georgia. This time we were visiting Quadra and Cortes (or Cortez, as it is sometimes spelled) Islands, just east of Campbell River.
The first hop was a 10-minute ride, after which we did some exploring of Quadra, the larger of the two islands. Both are known for their population of artists and artisans and for their rugged beauty. In addition, both seem to have a rainy northern half, and a drier southern half where most of the population is concentrated.
There are about 2,700 people on Quadra, and a lot of them, from what we could see, prefer to build their homes at the end of narrow, gravel roads well back in the woods, possibly with views of the water, and many with little orchards or patches of vegetable gardens. We followed the main road in the general direction of the ferry dock on the opposite side that would take us to Cortes, but we took a side road to look at Rebecca Spit and the provincial park that was at its tip. There was a lovely beach with rounded rocks, bleached driftwood and a serene feeling. A woman and her dog were wading in the water in the distance, and a couple of boats were moored to bouys off shore. Across the bay we could see Heriot Bay, where we were headed for the next ferry ride.
As we strolled back to our camper, a couple who had been walking their little dog were looking at our rig with some interest. They came from California, where they keep an Airstream trailer, but live part of the year on Quadra. They called their trailer The Empress when they first got it. Then their kids re-named it The Toaster because of its chrome exterior and rounded shape. Now that it’s older, they’ve taken to referring to it as The Tin Can, they joked. We gave them our blog address so they could read about our Alaska trek last year, after they told us how much they wanted to see that part of the world.
We headed on to Heriot Bay to line up for the next ferry. It only runs every other hour, and, not wanting to miss it, we ended up getting there well ahead of time. So we left the truck parked in line and strolled around a bit. There is a lovely inn near the ferry with nice flowerbeds and lawns, and Adirondack chairs overlooking the marina, plus a huge chess board about 10 feet square with pieces the size of traffic cones on the grass in front of the verandah. The place looked very welcoming.
As we strolled back to the truck, we passed a car in which an elegant older lady was reading the paper as she waited in line. I remarked to Val how much she looked like Iona Campagnolo, (former Liberal cabinet minister and former Lieutenant Governor of BC) and he said that was because she was Iona Campagnolo! We had just seen her portrait a few days ago at the aviation museum in Comox.
The ferry ride to Cortes was 45 minutes, but it didn’t seem long at all, as we gazed at the mountains, islands, clouds and water around us. A couple of young men on the ferry asked us if we had space to take them to Manson’s Landing if we were headed that way, so we rearranged a couple of items in the truck to make room. They were working on the island for the summer. The older one, Patrick, was 19 and had just spent a year in England working with blind people while fitting in some travel around the UK and Europe. It was interesting chatting with them about the adventures of travel and how much you can learn from visiting different countries.
Cortes is much smaller, with about 1,000 residents, but a similar feel to Quadra. After we dropped off Patrick and his friend, we headed toward Smelt Bay to the south, and then Cortes Bay on the west side of the island. It would have been nice to spend more time exploring and following some hiking trails, but we were very conscious of the time and the need to make it back to the ferry so we could connect with the Quadra ferry back to Campbell River without ending up getting back to our campground after dark. We did see a good number of impressive pleasure boats moored in both the coves where we stopped, and guessed they belonged to the owners of the gracious estates we didn’t see at the end of the narrow gravel roads we had passed.
We also saw a lot of deep forests of tall pine trees with thick undergrowth of ferns and carpets of soft needles and moss on the ground. Everything is so green and lush!
It was a pleasant ride home after a lovely day of sun mixed with cloud, and not too chilly temperatures.
CAMPBELL RIVER — For the second time this trip, we left Vancouver Island aboard a ferry and headed for a couple of islands in the Strait of Georgia. This time we were visiting Quadra and Cortes (or Cortez, as it is sometimes spelled) Islands, just east of Campbell River.
The first hop was a 10-minute ride, after which we did some exploring of Quadra, the larger of the two islands. Both are known for their population of artists and artisans and for their rugged beauty. In addition, both seem to have a rainy northern half, and a drier southern half where most of the population is concentrated.
There are about 2,700 people on Quadra, and a lot of them, from what we could see, prefer to build their homes at the end of narrow, gravel roads well back in the woods, possibly with views of the water, and many with little orchards or patches of vegetable gardens. We followed the main road in the general direction of the ferry dock on the opposite side that would take us to Cortes, but we took a side road to look at Rebecca Spit and the provincial park that was at its tip. There was a lovely beach with rounded rocks, bleached driftwood and a serene feeling. A woman and her dog were wading in the water in the distance, and a couple of boats were moored to bouys off shore. Across the bay we could see Heriot Bay, where we were headed for the next ferry ride.
As we strolled back to our camper, a couple who had been walking their little dog were looking at our rig with some interest. They came from California, where they keep an Airstream trailer, but live part of the year on Quadra. They called their trailer The Empress when they first got it. Then their kids re-named it The Toaster because of its chrome exterior and rounded shape. Now that it’s older, they’ve taken to referring to it as The Tin Can, they joked. We gave them our blog address so they could read about our Alaska trek last year, after they told us how much they wanted to see that part of the world.
We headed on to Heriot Bay to line up for the next ferry. It only runs every other hour, and, not wanting to miss it, we ended up getting there well ahead of time. So we left the truck parked in line and strolled around a bit. There is a lovely inn near the ferry with nice flowerbeds and lawns, and Adirondack chairs overlooking the marina, plus a huge chess board about 10 feet square with pieces the size of traffic cones on the grass in front of the verandah. The place looked very welcoming.
As we strolled back to the truck, we passed a car in which an elegant older lady was reading the paper as she waited in line. I remarked to Val how much she looked like Iona Campagnolo, (former Liberal cabinet minister and former Lieutenant Governor of BC) and he said that was because she was Iona Campagnolo! We had just seen her portrait a few days ago at the aviation museum in Comox.
The ferry ride to Cortes was 45 minutes, but it didn’t seem long at all, as we gazed at the mountains, islands, clouds and water around us. A couple of young men on the ferry asked us if we had space to take them to Manson’s Landing if we were headed that way, so we rearranged a couple of items in the truck to make room. They were working on the island for the summer. The older one, Patrick, was 19 and had just spent a year in England working with blind people while fitting in some travel around the UK and Europe. It was interesting chatting with them about the adventures of travel and how much you can learn from visiting different countries.
Cortes is much smaller, with about 1,000 residents, but a similar feel to Quadra. After we dropped off Patrick and his friend, we headed toward Smelt Bay to the south, and then Cortes Bay on the west side of the island. It would have been nice to spend more time exploring and following some hiking trails, but we were very conscious of the time and the need to make it back to the ferry so we could connect with the Quadra ferry back to Campbell River without ending up getting back to our campground after dark. We did see a good number of impressive pleasure boats moored in both the coves where we stopped, and guessed they belonged to the owners of the gracious estates we didn’t see at the end of the narrow gravel roads we had passed.
We also saw a lot of deep forests of tall pine trees with thick undergrowth of ferns and carpets of soft needles and moss on the ground. Everything is so green and lush!
It was a pleasant ride home after a lovely day of sun mixed with cloud, and not too chilly temperatures.
The 50th Parallel
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
CAMPBELL RIVER — This is the northernmost point of our journey this year, we have concluded. With four days remaining in our holiday, we would have to spend most of them driving to reach Port Hardy, at the top of Vancouver Island, and then driving back to make the ferry back to the mainland on Friday. So we will save that portion of the trip for another time.
We’re comfortable with that decision. There is plenty to see around Campbell River, and we can start our journey home without pressure. It was a very short drive from our campground just north of Courtenay to the Salmon Point Resort and RV Park, where we will be stationed for the next couple of nights. So we stopped in to register at around two o’clock and then continued into town for a look around.
The resort is right on the water, with a small marina and a restaurant close by, and tall fir trees throughout the campground. There are lots of RV sites, plus cabins, a rec hall, a swimming pool and hot tub. When we arrived, the boats in the marina were near the bottom of a large square enclosure with sloped sides made of large rocks. The high water mark seemed a long way up from where the surface of the water was at that time, but when we returned later, the tide had filled the enclosure right up!
The town of Campbell River (which has a cairn noting the 50th parallel that passes through it) is only a few streets deep, but spread in length along the Georgia Strait for some distance. Lots of the beach area is visible from the highway and accessible to the public, with a long walkway for cyclists and joggers, and plenty of benches and little parks for strollers. There are several marinas along the shore full of boats of all sizes. On the other side of the strait is Quadra Island and, beyond it, the smaller Cortez Island and the mainland.
We made our customary first stop at the visitor centre to see what the highlights would be for the area — and today in particular, we were looking for some indoor activity, because the day was grey and rainy, with a stiff wind that was downright cold to be out in. The tourist advisor suggested a couple of museums and art exhibits and then said, "have you checked your e-mail lately?" At first we didn’t get it, but then realized this was a suggestion for an indoor activity!
We opted for the Museum at Campbell River, as it is called, and were not disappointed. It’s a small one, but beautifully laid out and it provides a comprehensive overview of the area’s early Aboriginal population as well as the fishing and logging activities that came along with the arrival of the Europeans. It was interesting to see some artifacts from the Pacific natives that incorporated white man’s objects, such as a ceremonial jingle dress decorated with rows of thimbles in place of the traditional metal cones.
We saw a slice of a Douglas fir that, at the time of felling, was 1,034 years old! There were reproductions of a logger’s cabin, and the lobby of one of the first hotels in the area, that predated most local buildings and catered to sport fishermen in search of the prized "tyee" salmon which teemed in the waters offshore. There was a black and white photo of a woman named Phyllis who had caught one that she was carrying on her back; its head was resting on her shoulders and the tail was flapping against her ankles!
We headed back to the campground for a rest, and to look around some more, and then returned to town for a restaurant dinner. Campbell River calls itself the salmon capital of Canada, so we felt it important to sample the local catch. It was a nice meal, but not spectacular. As we enjoyed the view over the harbour which our table by the window provided us, we caught sight of a number of small fish, about four inches long, leaping out of the water. Our waitress told us they were baby salmon, and from the wharf further down you could see schools of them through the water! We also watched the ferry crossing to Quadra Island. Tomorrow we’ll be on it, to do some more exploring.
CAMPBELL RIVER — This is the northernmost point of our journey this year, we have concluded. With four days remaining in our holiday, we would have to spend most of them driving to reach Port Hardy, at the top of Vancouver Island, and then driving back to make the ferry back to the mainland on Friday. So we will save that portion of the trip for another time.
We’re comfortable with that decision. There is plenty to see around Campbell River, and we can start our journey home without pressure. It was a very short drive from our campground just north of Courtenay to the Salmon Point Resort and RV Park, where we will be stationed for the next couple of nights. So we stopped in to register at around two o’clock and then continued into town for a look around.
The resort is right on the water, with a small marina and a restaurant close by, and tall fir trees throughout the campground. There are lots of RV sites, plus cabins, a rec hall, a swimming pool and hot tub. When we arrived, the boats in the marina were near the bottom of a large square enclosure with sloped sides made of large rocks. The high water mark seemed a long way up from where the surface of the water was at that time, but when we returned later, the tide had filled the enclosure right up!
The town of Campbell River (which has a cairn noting the 50th parallel that passes through it) is only a few streets deep, but spread in length along the Georgia Strait for some distance. Lots of the beach area is visible from the highway and accessible to the public, with a long walkway for cyclists and joggers, and plenty of benches and little parks for strollers. There are several marinas along the shore full of boats of all sizes. On the other side of the strait is Quadra Island and, beyond it, the smaller Cortez Island and the mainland.
We made our customary first stop at the visitor centre to see what the highlights would be for the area — and today in particular, we were looking for some indoor activity, because the day was grey and rainy, with a stiff wind that was downright cold to be out in. The tourist advisor suggested a couple of museums and art exhibits and then said, "have you checked your e-mail lately?" At first we didn’t get it, but then realized this was a suggestion for an indoor activity!
We opted for the Museum at Campbell River, as it is called, and were not disappointed. It’s a small one, but beautifully laid out and it provides a comprehensive overview of the area’s early Aboriginal population as well as the fishing and logging activities that came along with the arrival of the Europeans. It was interesting to see some artifacts from the Pacific natives that incorporated white man’s objects, such as a ceremonial jingle dress decorated with rows of thimbles in place of the traditional metal cones.
We saw a slice of a Douglas fir that, at the time of felling, was 1,034 years old! There were reproductions of a logger’s cabin, and the lobby of one of the first hotels in the area, that predated most local buildings and catered to sport fishermen in search of the prized "tyee" salmon which teemed in the waters offshore. There was a black and white photo of a woman named Phyllis who had caught one that she was carrying on her back; its head was resting on her shoulders and the tail was flapping against her ankles!
We headed back to the campground for a rest, and to look around some more, and then returned to town for a restaurant dinner. Campbell River calls itself the salmon capital of Canada, so we felt it important to sample the local catch. It was a nice meal, but not spectacular. As we enjoyed the view over the harbour which our table by the window provided us, we caught sight of a number of small fish, about four inches long, leaping out of the water. Our waitress told us they were baby salmon, and from the wharf further down you could see schools of them through the water! We also watched the ferry crossing to Quadra Island. Tomorrow we’ll be on it, to do some more exploring.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sails and wings
Monday, July 28, 2008
COURTENAY — Another sunny day greeted us this morning at our seaside campground. We have had so little rain this trip, which has been a joy to us as tourists, but has caused local authorities to ban fires of any kind in most places. Even with the sun, though, we have rarely if at all felt actually hot.
Our destination today was the two cities of Courtenay and Comox, which co-exist much in the way Halifax and Dartmouth do, separated by a couple of bridges and the Courtenay River but very much involved with each other. We stopped at the visitor centre for some recommendations as to what to see in the area, and got some good advice. Right behind the visitor centre was a looped walkway that we took to see the waterfront condos that overlook a small air strip and the river that separates the two cities.
Courtenay has a lovely downtown, Fifth Street, where small shops line either side of the road, and the streetscape includes bright hanging flower baskets, benches, and slanted parking spaces for busy patrons. The buildings are all one storey high, so it has a nice bustling, small town feel.
The street culminates at one end in a bridge across to Comox, which we took and then turned along the waterfront on that side. That road is the town’s main street, and all the lampposts are painted blue and decorated with white triangular banners that look like the sails of boats all down the street. Brightly coloured flower beds line the curbs on either side. It’s lovely.
We turned toward the town’s marina and stopped to eat our lunch in the parking lot before taking a stroll to look at the many boats moored there, with rows of masts standing like soldiers side by side. I always enjoy reading the interesting names people give to their boats; we saw the Kathryn Gail, Nonsuch, and Obsession. There were other neat ones but I can’t remember them!
The municipality built a wide, raised boardwalk between the marina and the waterway with thick sturdy boards and railings that we walked along. There were memorial benches placed every few feet with little plaques. One noted that this was granddad’s favourite spot, and the bench was placed there by the family as a memorial.
We wanted to have a look at the Canadian Forces Base and its aviation museum. It was housed in a low building right next to the airfield, and we passed a number of old planes on display in the field near it, which we checked out afterward. Inside were displays from the two World Wars, with photos, posters, uniforms, badges and personal belongings from aviators of days gone by. An interesting booklet was on display from a nurse in the Second World War, who insisted that every patient had to write a message or draw a picture before he could be released from her care. There were some very artistic renderings of the soldier’s life, as well as silly poems and comments.
One section of the museum had a reproduction of an airport control tower from the early days, with all the old equipment and a diorama of the airfield set out beyond the slanted windows of the tower. It was well done.
We strolled around the airplanes on display outside, and Val took pictures of a Voodoo fighter, a MIG, a Starfighter and one of the planes used by the Snowbirds.
On our way back, we meandered through a couple of well-heeled neighbourhoods with beautiful landscaping and views of the snow-topped mountains across the water. We couldn’t get over the profusion and beauty of the many flowers that grow so well in this province. Anyone with even a hint of a green thumb can do wonderfully in a climate like this.
We enjoyed the fruits — literally — of one such green thumb at a roadside stand not far from our campground, where we picked up a container of local raspberries, BC cherries and some Okanagan peaches. The raspberries were our dessert after supper today, and we simply ate them straight out of the container till they were all gone. Absolutely delicious! We plan to stop by again on our way out tomorrow for more — and to try the local blueberries as well.
COURTENAY — Another sunny day greeted us this morning at our seaside campground. We have had so little rain this trip, which has been a joy to us as tourists, but has caused local authorities to ban fires of any kind in most places. Even with the sun, though, we have rarely if at all felt actually hot.
Our destination today was the two cities of Courtenay and Comox, which co-exist much in the way Halifax and Dartmouth do, separated by a couple of bridges and the Courtenay River but very much involved with each other. We stopped at the visitor centre for some recommendations as to what to see in the area, and got some good advice. Right behind the visitor centre was a looped walkway that we took to see the waterfront condos that overlook a small air strip and the river that separates the two cities.
Courtenay has a lovely downtown, Fifth Street, where small shops line either side of the road, and the streetscape includes bright hanging flower baskets, benches, and slanted parking spaces for busy patrons. The buildings are all one storey high, so it has a nice bustling, small town feel.
The street culminates at one end in a bridge across to Comox, which we took and then turned along the waterfront on that side. That road is the town’s main street, and all the lampposts are painted blue and decorated with white triangular banners that look like the sails of boats all down the street. Brightly coloured flower beds line the curbs on either side. It’s lovely.
We turned toward the town’s marina and stopped to eat our lunch in the parking lot before taking a stroll to look at the many boats moored there, with rows of masts standing like soldiers side by side. I always enjoy reading the interesting names people give to their boats; we saw the Kathryn Gail, Nonsuch, and Obsession. There were other neat ones but I can’t remember them!
The municipality built a wide, raised boardwalk between the marina and the waterway with thick sturdy boards and railings that we walked along. There were memorial benches placed every few feet with little plaques. One noted that this was granddad’s favourite spot, and the bench was placed there by the family as a memorial.
We wanted to have a look at the Canadian Forces Base and its aviation museum. It was housed in a low building right next to the airfield, and we passed a number of old planes on display in the field near it, which we checked out afterward. Inside were displays from the two World Wars, with photos, posters, uniforms, badges and personal belongings from aviators of days gone by. An interesting booklet was on display from a nurse in the Second World War, who insisted that every patient had to write a message or draw a picture before he could be released from her care. There were some very artistic renderings of the soldier’s life, as well as silly poems and comments.
One section of the museum had a reproduction of an airport control tower from the early days, with all the old equipment and a diorama of the airfield set out beyond the slanted windows of the tower. It was well done.
We strolled around the airplanes on display outside, and Val took pictures of a Voodoo fighter, a MIG, a Starfighter and one of the planes used by the Snowbirds.
On our way back, we meandered through a couple of well-heeled neighbourhoods with beautiful landscaping and views of the snow-topped mountains across the water. We couldn’t get over the profusion and beauty of the many flowers that grow so well in this province. Anyone with even a hint of a green thumb can do wonderfully in a climate like this.
We enjoyed the fruits — literally — of one such green thumb at a roadside stand not far from our campground, where we picked up a container of local raspberries, BC cherries and some Okanagan peaches. The raspberries were our dessert after supper today, and we simply ate them straight out of the container till they were all gone. Absolutely delicious! We plan to stop by again on our way out tomorrow for more — and to try the local blueberries as well.
From shore to shore
Sunday, July 27, 2008
COURTENAY — This morning we listened to waves coming in from the Pacific; tonight we go to sleep to the sound of waves on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island, just north of Courtenay and Comox.
Today was mostly a travel day to accomplish this. The distances we have to cover are relatively small on the island, compared to the great stretches of territory we covered last year, crossing the North American continent. We only traveled about 150 kilometers today, from Tofino to the Bates Beach Resort and RV campground.
It’s a bit of a contrast to our previous location’s manicured flower beds, gravel sites that are raked daily like a Japanese garden, groomed lawns and staff purring by in electric golf carts. This campground is a rumpled, homey place where most of the campers seem to know each other and dented boats lie upturned near the beach next to the fish cleaning table. It’s been here since the 1970s, and the lovely view of the Gulf islands and the mainland beyond are a strong drawing card.
On the blackboard on the wall of the washroom and shower building the weather is scrawled in chalk, as well as the hours of the high and low tides and what cruise ships we may expect to see sailing through today. We got here after most of today’s sailings and tides occurred, but we’ll have to check out what’s going to transpire tomorrow.
Our trip here took us back across the island through some winding roads. From time to time, Val would pull off to the shoulder to let a string of faster cars go by. He did this one time, only to see the string of cars pull off just ahead of us — and then we saw why: a small black bear was calmly grazing on a grassy knoll by the highway just ahead! It was at the same spot where Val had caught sight of him on the way in.
Not long after, we arrived at Port Alberni, where we picked up a few supplies. We’re trying to scale it down quite a bit so our groceries are sufficient for the week but not beyond, as we will have to either leave or pack in our luggage anything we don’t consume! However, we did buy a small hockey bag to help us accomplish this, as we do want to take the nice camp stove that we bought home with us, plus a couple of other small things.
We passed through the beautiful Cathedral Grove one more time, still awed by the amazing height of the fir trees on either side of the highway. Our drive through Parksville and Qualicum Beach felt like familiar territory, as did the highway north of those two towns that we had traveled earlier when we took the ferry to Denman and Hornby Islands.
Courtenay and Comox were only a short distance beyond the ferry dock. We didn’t linger there, but rather headed straight for the campground for a leisurely afternoon with some time to get the last couple of loads of laundry done for our final week here. We’ll do more exploring tomorrow.
After supper we sat on benches facing the water and watched the waves, the seagulls and a pretty rainbow that the light showers mixed with sunshine had produced over the water. A couple of anglers proudly came by to weigh their catch at the scales near our seats. They had caught a small red snapper and a silvery salmon that weighed nearly nine pounds! The seagulls became very vocal and curious as one of them scaled the fish and cut them into fillets. He tossed the tails and heads onto the beach for them to fight over.
We struck up a conversation with one of the camp owners, who had also come down to see the catch of the day, and he said there were a couple of bald eagles who would probably soon be by as well. Sure enough, we heard one cry out a few minutes later, and I spotted him high on a tree overlooking the water. The owner went down and picked up the salmon head, waved it high in the air, placed it on the concrete boat ramp and walked back up to our viewing point. Minutes later the eagle swooped over our heads, stretched out his feet and grabbed the salmon’s head lying on the shore. Suddenly there was a second eagle vying for the same prize and not too pleased to see he had come too late! This early bird got more than a worm this time.
COURTENAY — This morning we listened to waves coming in from the Pacific; tonight we go to sleep to the sound of waves on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island, just north of Courtenay and Comox.
Today was mostly a travel day to accomplish this. The distances we have to cover are relatively small on the island, compared to the great stretches of territory we covered last year, crossing the North American continent. We only traveled about 150 kilometers today, from Tofino to the Bates Beach Resort and RV campground.
It’s a bit of a contrast to our previous location’s manicured flower beds, gravel sites that are raked daily like a Japanese garden, groomed lawns and staff purring by in electric golf carts. This campground is a rumpled, homey place where most of the campers seem to know each other and dented boats lie upturned near the beach next to the fish cleaning table. It’s been here since the 1970s, and the lovely view of the Gulf islands and the mainland beyond are a strong drawing card.
On the blackboard on the wall of the washroom and shower building the weather is scrawled in chalk, as well as the hours of the high and low tides and what cruise ships we may expect to see sailing through today. We got here after most of today’s sailings and tides occurred, but we’ll have to check out what’s going to transpire tomorrow.
Our trip here took us back across the island through some winding roads. From time to time, Val would pull off to the shoulder to let a string of faster cars go by. He did this one time, only to see the string of cars pull off just ahead of us — and then we saw why: a small black bear was calmly grazing on a grassy knoll by the highway just ahead! It was at the same spot where Val had caught sight of him on the way in.
Not long after, we arrived at Port Alberni, where we picked up a few supplies. We’re trying to scale it down quite a bit so our groceries are sufficient for the week but not beyond, as we will have to either leave or pack in our luggage anything we don’t consume! However, we did buy a small hockey bag to help us accomplish this, as we do want to take the nice camp stove that we bought home with us, plus a couple of other small things.
We passed through the beautiful Cathedral Grove one more time, still awed by the amazing height of the fir trees on either side of the highway. Our drive through Parksville and Qualicum Beach felt like familiar territory, as did the highway north of those two towns that we had traveled earlier when we took the ferry to Denman and Hornby Islands.
Courtenay and Comox were only a short distance beyond the ferry dock. We didn’t linger there, but rather headed straight for the campground for a leisurely afternoon with some time to get the last couple of loads of laundry done for our final week here. We’ll do more exploring tomorrow.
After supper we sat on benches facing the water and watched the waves, the seagulls and a pretty rainbow that the light showers mixed with sunshine had produced over the water. A couple of anglers proudly came by to weigh their catch at the scales near our seats. They had caught a small red snapper and a silvery salmon that weighed nearly nine pounds! The seagulls became very vocal and curious as one of them scaled the fish and cut them into fillets. He tossed the tails and heads onto the beach for them to fight over.
We struck up a conversation with one of the camp owners, who had also come down to see the catch of the day, and he said there were a couple of bald eagles who would probably soon be by as well. Sure enough, we heard one cry out a few minutes later, and I spotted him high on a tree overlooking the water. The owner went down and picked up the salmon head, waved it high in the air, placed it on the concrete boat ramp and walked back up to our viewing point. Minutes later the eagle swooped over our heads, stretched out his feet and grabbed the salmon’s head lying on the shore. Suddenly there was a second eagle vying for the same prize and not too pleased to see he had come too late! This early bird got more than a worm this time.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
638 steps
Saturday, July 26, 2008
TOFINO — Last night for the first time this holiday, we heard the pitter-patter of raindrops on the camper roof. When we woke up this morning everything was very wet and it was overcast, but the rain was over at least. The coolness and damp feeling remained, however, so we dressed with layers.
What better thing to do on a damp day than wander through a rainforest? We chose the Tofino Botanical Gardens for this purpose, and found it quite beautiful. There was a homey feel about this garden because of its small scale and the sense of humour that showed up both in the added touches and in the quirky tone of the brochure that guided our walk. There were odd-looking birdhouses crafted from twisted driftwood, wooden sculptures here and there, and a gazebo that looked like a hobbit’s home. We actually saw banana plants thriving in the garden, although the blurb said they produced inedible fruit, and they had planted them there just because they could. There was bamboo and palm trees growing there as well, plus their prize plant, a nine-foot Himalayan lily with pink and white waxy trumpets blooming at its top! A stern sign was posted next to the frog pond warning passers by of man-eating crocodiles in the vicinity — and there one was, carved from wood with its knobby back peeking up between the water lilies.
The Trilogy Café was connected to the ticket office for the gardens, and after our chilly, damp walk I was ready for a bowl of hot soup. We stopped in and enjoyed steaming cream of mushroom soup, and Val had the frittata while I relished my open-faced sandwich of whole grain bread, caramelized onions, and thick slices of tomato topped with melted cheese. Delicious! I couldn’t resist a slice of pecan caramel pie for dessert, which Val very kindly helped me consume.
We waddled on our way and headed for the Pacific Rim National Park again. This time we took the Radar Hill trail to see a veterans’ plaque commemorating the Korean War (which has a twin in a national park in Korea, we learned) and check out the view from one of the highest points around. We saw very little today because of the low cloud cover!
Our next venue was the Schooner Cove, a kilometer-long trek through thick rainforest to a beautiful beach. The trail began as a gravel path, but soon became a narrow board walk that snaked up and down through an amazing forest of pine, ferns, hanging moss and fallen timbers where new life was springing forth from the rotted stumps. The boards themselves were rounded from the wear of many footsteps, and some had become mossy at their edges. As we rose and descended with the topography of the trail, there were steps up and down that I decided to count on the return journey. In all, multiplying the result by two, we stepped up or down 638 times over the length of the trail!
When we arrived at the beach, we caught sight of a bald eagle flapping its wings overhead as it descended toward the beach, hopped to the sand on its sturdy legs, and began tearing away at a fish. A second bald eagle joined it shortly afterward, with its huge wingspan. The first one took off shortly afterward with a chunk of fish in its claws, and flew toward the treetops.
The whole time we were there, the roar of the pounding waves filled our ears. In the distance, misty because of the humid air blowing in from the sea, we could see grey silhouettes of craggy pine trees along the shore. There was an Aboriginal settlement by the shore in a spot that had been inhabited by Pacific natives for hundreds of years. It was called Esowista.
We wandered along the beach for a short distance and then turned back to retrace our steps back to the parking lot. That’s when I started to count! We burned off a few of those pecan pie calories on this walk for sure.
It was time for a rest, so we returned to Crystal Cove Resort and parked in our site for a couple of hours. Then we set off for Tofino, where we had dinner at the Sobo Restaurant. Val had clipped out an article about Sobo from the Ottawa Citizen in April 2007 that extolled the virtues of the amazing fish tacos with fruit salsa and polenta fries. "Sobo" is short for sophisticated Bohemian, and the chef, Lisa Ahier, uses the freshest ingredients and the best olive oil to produce her masterpieces. We shared a fish taco for the appetizer (amazing!) and ordered the wild Pacific salmon, prepared on a cedar plank and served on a bed of barley studded with colourful red and yellow peppers, crispy green beans, purple onions and a sprig of broccoli and bright yellow cauliflower. What a treat! We were too full for dessert, but were persuaded to bring home for later a couple of thickly frosted dark chocolate brownies, studded with walnuts! I think we’ll be eating water and soda cra
TOFINO — Last night for the first time this holiday, we heard the pitter-patter of raindrops on the camper roof. When we woke up this morning everything was very wet and it was overcast, but the rain was over at least. The coolness and damp feeling remained, however, so we dressed with layers.
What better thing to do on a damp day than wander through a rainforest? We chose the Tofino Botanical Gardens for this purpose, and found it quite beautiful. There was a homey feel about this garden because of its small scale and the sense of humour that showed up both in the added touches and in the quirky tone of the brochure that guided our walk. There were odd-looking birdhouses crafted from twisted driftwood, wooden sculptures here and there, and a gazebo that looked like a hobbit’s home. We actually saw banana plants thriving in the garden, although the blurb said they produced inedible fruit, and they had planted them there just because they could. There was bamboo and palm trees growing there as well, plus their prize plant, a nine-foot Himalayan lily with pink and white waxy trumpets blooming at its top! A stern sign was posted next to the frog pond warning passers by of man-eating crocodiles in the vicinity — and there one was, carved from wood with its knobby back peeking up between the water lilies.
The Trilogy Café was connected to the ticket office for the gardens, and after our chilly, damp walk I was ready for a bowl of hot soup. We stopped in and enjoyed steaming cream of mushroom soup, and Val had the frittata while I relished my open-faced sandwich of whole grain bread, caramelized onions, and thick slices of tomato topped with melted cheese. Delicious! I couldn’t resist a slice of pecan caramel pie for dessert, which Val very kindly helped me consume.
We waddled on our way and headed for the Pacific Rim National Park again. This time we took the Radar Hill trail to see a veterans’ plaque commemorating the Korean War (which has a twin in a national park in Korea, we learned) and check out the view from one of the highest points around. We saw very little today because of the low cloud cover!
Our next venue was the Schooner Cove, a kilometer-long trek through thick rainforest to a beautiful beach. The trail began as a gravel path, but soon became a narrow board walk that snaked up and down through an amazing forest of pine, ferns, hanging moss and fallen timbers where new life was springing forth from the rotted stumps. The boards themselves were rounded from the wear of many footsteps, and some had become mossy at their edges. As we rose and descended with the topography of the trail, there were steps up and down that I decided to count on the return journey. In all, multiplying the result by two, we stepped up or down 638 times over the length of the trail!
When we arrived at the beach, we caught sight of a bald eagle flapping its wings overhead as it descended toward the beach, hopped to the sand on its sturdy legs, and began tearing away at a fish. A second bald eagle joined it shortly afterward, with its huge wingspan. The first one took off shortly afterward with a chunk of fish in its claws, and flew toward the treetops.
The whole time we were there, the roar of the pounding waves filled our ears. In the distance, misty because of the humid air blowing in from the sea, we could see grey silhouettes of craggy pine trees along the shore. There was an Aboriginal settlement by the shore in a spot that had been inhabited by Pacific natives for hundreds of years. It was called Esowista.
We wandered along the beach for a short distance and then turned back to retrace our steps back to the parking lot. That’s when I started to count! We burned off a few of those pecan pie calories on this walk for sure.
It was time for a rest, so we returned to Crystal Cove Resort and parked in our site for a couple of hours. Then we set off for Tofino, where we had dinner at the Sobo Restaurant. Val had clipped out an article about Sobo from the Ottawa Citizen in April 2007 that extolled the virtues of the amazing fish tacos with fruit salsa and polenta fries. "Sobo" is short for sophisticated Bohemian, and the chef, Lisa Ahier, uses the freshest ingredients and the best olive oil to produce her masterpieces. We shared a fish taco for the appetizer (amazing!) and ordered the wild Pacific salmon, prepared on a cedar plank and served on a bed of barley studded with colourful red and yellow peppers, crispy green beans, purple onions and a sprig of broccoli and bright yellow cauliflower. What a treat! We were too full for dessert, but were persuaded to bring home for later a couple of thickly frosted dark chocolate brownies, studded with walnuts! I think we’ll be eating water and soda cra
Friday, July 25, 2008
Fins and flippers
Friday, July 25, 2008
TOFINO — We are hung with horseshoes. This morning we got our day started as usual and set off for Tofino for a look around and to see about going out whale watching. We stopped in at Jamie’s Whaling Station at about 10 minutes to 10 and the lady at the counter said we could head right on board if we liked, because the boat was just about to sail and they would hold it for us! So we grabbed our camera and binoculars, threw on a few layers and hurried down to the dock as the crew got ready to untie the ropes.
We were aboard the Leviathan II, a boat that could hold about 50 passengers, with an upper deck exposed to the elements and a lower one with windows. Everyone was up top, so we went up as well and found the very front bench still available. That was when I realized I was one layer short — in our haste I had forgotten my windbreaker, and the wind was cool and strong, blowing through my sweatshirt. Brrr!
Fortunately, our tickets included free hot chocolate (or coffee or tea), and one of the crew members very kindly dug up a rain jacket for me to borrow. I was very grateful. Our captain provided a very informative spiel about aquatic life in the area and how to spot a whale by its misty spout when it comes up to breathe.
The first thing we spotted as we sailed away from the Tofino harbour was a bald eagle, perched on a high branch on one of the smaller islands. When we had passed a few more islands further along, the captain spotted a large, tan coloured sea lion basking on the rocks. It was quite cool and overcast, so he probably wasn’t soaking in much warmth at that point. Shortly afterward, on another rocky island, we saw a second sea lion and, swimming in the water just offshore, a female and baby that clumsily waddled on to the rock a few minutes later, all sleek and shiny from the water. They made a nice family portrait together!
The captain told us that reports from other boats on the water indicated there were whales, so he headed in that direction. On the way we saw one lone sea otter, floating on his back with his flippers up in the air. They look so relaxed in that position!
We had to travel some distance before we finally caught sight of some boats clustered in one spot near Meares Island, and soon after that we saw the first spout! Before long it was clear there were several of these huge beasts, rising to the surface for air and curving their backs as they plunged to the bottom to feed. These were gray whales that prefer the small creatures that live on the ocean floor. They dive and eat, then rise to breathe — and every third or fourth breath, they take a nearly vertical plunge that brings their fluked tails above the surface for a moment before slipping beneath the waves. What a fantastic sight that is! Even though we could only see these parts — a humped back and the occasional tail — it wasn’t hard to imagine the enormous size of the whole animal that we knew was just under the surface. We were spellbound!
Our search for this amazing sight had taken us further than they normally have to travel to provide the guaranteed sightings, so it was a longer trip back to shore, so by this point most of the passengers had opted to watch for further signs of wildlife from the relative warmth of the sheltered lower deck. There were informative maps, diagrams and articles laid out so we could learn more about what we had seen. The world’s whale population was in peril in the 1960s, but thanks to a ban on whaling and other conservation efforts, it has rebounded to some 25,000 creatures today. It was fantastic seeing a few of them first hand.
We stepped into our camper for a bite of lunch in the parking lot when we finally reached shore, just after 1:30, and then headed in to see the rest of Torino. It’s a very small town that seems to have a major parking challenge on its hands. We drove around its four or five streets several times before finding a spot where we could leave the truck. One irritable resident had posted signs at the end of his driveway threatening slashed tires for anyone who tried to park there — and he lived right across the street from the RCMP detachment!
The commercial establishments cater to hikers and adventurers, offering high-tech clothing and equipment such as diving suits and surf boards. There are some interesting restaurants and food stores that feature the word "organic" in front of every product name. And, of course, there was a busy marina or two on the water.
With all the evidence of surfing, we wanted to have a look at where that happens, so we drove away from town and toward the Pacific Rim National Park where the famed beaches are found. We picked Comber’s Beach from the map, and headed on the trail through the woods with the sound of the surf in our ears. The vegetation was thick and stunted by endless wind, storms and salt. Val said it looked like an enchanted forest! After passing through a tunnel of tangled branches and roots, we descended the wooden stairs to a sandy beach that spread out for miles in both directions, with pounding white breakers crashing in and streaming up the packed sand at our feet. There were only a few people around, and about three that were actually brave enough to go into the chilly water — none of whom were surfers! We looked out to the vast, shining sea and wondered how long we’d have to paddle to get to Japan.
TOFINO — We are hung with horseshoes. This morning we got our day started as usual and set off for Tofino for a look around and to see about going out whale watching. We stopped in at Jamie’s Whaling Station at about 10 minutes to 10 and the lady at the counter said we could head right on board if we liked, because the boat was just about to sail and they would hold it for us! So we grabbed our camera and binoculars, threw on a few layers and hurried down to the dock as the crew got ready to untie the ropes.
We were aboard the Leviathan II, a boat that could hold about 50 passengers, with an upper deck exposed to the elements and a lower one with windows. Everyone was up top, so we went up as well and found the very front bench still available. That was when I realized I was one layer short — in our haste I had forgotten my windbreaker, and the wind was cool and strong, blowing through my sweatshirt. Brrr!
Fortunately, our tickets included free hot chocolate (or coffee or tea), and one of the crew members very kindly dug up a rain jacket for me to borrow. I was very grateful. Our captain provided a very informative spiel about aquatic life in the area and how to spot a whale by its misty spout when it comes up to breathe.
The first thing we spotted as we sailed away from the Tofino harbour was a bald eagle, perched on a high branch on one of the smaller islands. When we had passed a few more islands further along, the captain spotted a large, tan coloured sea lion basking on the rocks. It was quite cool and overcast, so he probably wasn’t soaking in much warmth at that point. Shortly afterward, on another rocky island, we saw a second sea lion and, swimming in the water just offshore, a female and baby that clumsily waddled on to the rock a few minutes later, all sleek and shiny from the water. They made a nice family portrait together!
The captain told us that reports from other boats on the water indicated there were whales, so he headed in that direction. On the way we saw one lone sea otter, floating on his back with his flippers up in the air. They look so relaxed in that position!
We had to travel some distance before we finally caught sight of some boats clustered in one spot near Meares Island, and soon after that we saw the first spout! Before long it was clear there were several of these huge beasts, rising to the surface for air and curving their backs as they plunged to the bottom to feed. These were gray whales that prefer the small creatures that live on the ocean floor. They dive and eat, then rise to breathe — and every third or fourth breath, they take a nearly vertical plunge that brings their fluked tails above the surface for a moment before slipping beneath the waves. What a fantastic sight that is! Even though we could only see these parts — a humped back and the occasional tail — it wasn’t hard to imagine the enormous size of the whole animal that we knew was just under the surface. We were spellbound!
Our search for this amazing sight had taken us further than they normally have to travel to provide the guaranteed sightings, so it was a longer trip back to shore, so by this point most of the passengers had opted to watch for further signs of wildlife from the relative warmth of the sheltered lower deck. There were informative maps, diagrams and articles laid out so we could learn more about what we had seen. The world’s whale population was in peril in the 1960s, but thanks to a ban on whaling and other conservation efforts, it has rebounded to some 25,000 creatures today. It was fantastic seeing a few of them first hand.
We stepped into our camper for a bite of lunch in the parking lot when we finally reached shore, just after 1:30, and then headed in to see the rest of Torino. It’s a very small town that seems to have a major parking challenge on its hands. We drove around its four or five streets several times before finding a spot where we could leave the truck. One irritable resident had posted signs at the end of his driveway threatening slashed tires for anyone who tried to park there — and he lived right across the street from the RCMP detachment!
The commercial establishments cater to hikers and adventurers, offering high-tech clothing and equipment such as diving suits and surf boards. There are some interesting restaurants and food stores that feature the word "organic" in front of every product name. And, of course, there was a busy marina or two on the water.
With all the evidence of surfing, we wanted to have a look at where that happens, so we drove away from town and toward the Pacific Rim National Park where the famed beaches are found. We picked Comber’s Beach from the map, and headed on the trail through the woods with the sound of the surf in our ears. The vegetation was thick and stunted by endless wind, storms and salt. Val said it looked like an enchanted forest! After passing through a tunnel of tangled branches and roots, we descended the wooden stairs to a sandy beach that spread out for miles in both directions, with pounding white breakers crashing in and streaming up the packed sand at our feet. There were only a few people around, and about three that were actually brave enough to go into the chilly water — none of whom were surfers! We looked out to the vast, shining sea and wondered how long we’d have to paddle to get to Japan.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
About as far as we can go
Thursday, July 24, 2008
TOFINO — Canada’s Riviera, they call this place, and from our view of the beach at the Crystal Cove Resort and campground where we are stationed for the next couple of days, Tofino lives up to that reputation. Soft sand gives way underfoot, gentle waves wash in and out, and breathtaking rocks and pine trees enclose the curving shore on either side of the cove. This is only one of a number of beaches, some of which are several kilometers long. We’ll be seeing more of those tomorrow.
After we turned west from Parksville this morning toward the opposite side of the island, we passed through the small town of Coombs, which has as its claim to fame an establishment with a sod roof on which several goats graze every day! "Goats on a roof" announces the roadside sign with the arrow to turn left a few meters ahead. Lots of people do just that, and find the bearded critters munching away on their lofty perch, oblivious to the clicking cameras. While the people are there, they also check out a whole collection of little shops and boutiques that are strategically placed nearby.
The first stretch of highway was familiar ground, as we had traveled this way to see Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park on one of our first days on the island. We still marveled at the huge fir trees as we passed them again today, heading on toward Port Alberni. Even though that town appears to be dead centre between the east and west coasts, a person could put a boat in the water there and paddle all the way out a long finger of ocean to the Pacific. It looks like a prosperous town, boasting a great big WalMart and Canadian Tire across from each other.
The highway was a fairly good one as we got further into the country. It did twist and turn a fair bit, and we could almost hear the dishes crashing about in the camper behind us as we hit a few dipsy-doodles in the road surface, but it was generally okay. We passed a number of brooks and streams, and caught glimpses of some beautiful scenery with snow-topped mountains in the distance, pine trees closer by, and clear green streams gurgling past in front of us. Perfect subjects for calendar photographers!
Val caught sight of some tourists taking pictures and realized the subject of their attention was a black bear by the roadside, less than 20 feet from them! I missed seeing the bear. Maybe we’ll see the headlines tomorrow about the folks who risked their lives for a good souvenir photo.
We stopped at the information centre just before the highway split to the left for Ucluelet and to the right for Tofino. The Parks Canada attendant showed us where the best walking trails and beaches were, and we picked up a couple of local maps and brochures.
We took the left road first to Ucluelet. (Are "you clueless", or do you know how to pronounce "Ucluelet"?) At the very end of it, after we passed a number of resort hotels and cabins, plus ice cream stands and whale-watching enterprises, we came to the walking trail we wanted to take. It was about two kilometers long, and wound up and down through rainforest portions and out to various lookout points where we could see a few islands and the mighty Pacific Ocean beyond. There was a plaque describing a shipwreck that occurred in 1905 just below where we were standing, where all 27 passengers drowned only a few feet from the rocky shores. A lighthouse was built the next year, but was destroyed by storms a few years later. The one that’s there now has weathered the storms since 1915, and has been automated since 1988.
Shortly after we looked at the lighthouse, we stopped at another viewing spot to see a pair of magnificent bald eagles perched high on a dead pine tree where they had built a large nest. Thanks to the zoom lens on our camera, we managed to get a couple of good shots. The trail turned into a boardwalk shortly after that point, and parts of it were stairs which helped us climb back up to the parking lot.
On towards Tofino we went, stopping short of the town itself to turn into our resort location. It is a beautifully manicured spot, with landscaped flower beds along the road, which an attendant sweeps regularly to keep the gravel off the pavement. There are some lovely log cabins near the beach and 50 or more campsites of various sizes, nicely separated from each other by shrubs. We realize that we are about as far west of Ottawa as we can get and still be in Canada!
Our plan tonight is to light our first campfire, which is permitted here and for which the firewood is free. An inviting prospect!
TOFINO — Canada’s Riviera, they call this place, and from our view of the beach at the Crystal Cove Resort and campground where we are stationed for the next couple of days, Tofino lives up to that reputation. Soft sand gives way underfoot, gentle waves wash in and out, and breathtaking rocks and pine trees enclose the curving shore on either side of the cove. This is only one of a number of beaches, some of which are several kilometers long. We’ll be seeing more of those tomorrow.
After we turned west from Parksville this morning toward the opposite side of the island, we passed through the small town of Coombs, which has as its claim to fame an establishment with a sod roof on which several goats graze every day! "Goats on a roof" announces the roadside sign with the arrow to turn left a few meters ahead. Lots of people do just that, and find the bearded critters munching away on their lofty perch, oblivious to the clicking cameras. While the people are there, they also check out a whole collection of little shops and boutiques that are strategically placed nearby.
The first stretch of highway was familiar ground, as we had traveled this way to see Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park on one of our first days on the island. We still marveled at the huge fir trees as we passed them again today, heading on toward Port Alberni. Even though that town appears to be dead centre between the east and west coasts, a person could put a boat in the water there and paddle all the way out a long finger of ocean to the Pacific. It looks like a prosperous town, boasting a great big WalMart and Canadian Tire across from each other.
The highway was a fairly good one as we got further into the country. It did twist and turn a fair bit, and we could almost hear the dishes crashing about in the camper behind us as we hit a few dipsy-doodles in the road surface, but it was generally okay. We passed a number of brooks and streams, and caught glimpses of some beautiful scenery with snow-topped mountains in the distance, pine trees closer by, and clear green streams gurgling past in front of us. Perfect subjects for calendar photographers!
Val caught sight of some tourists taking pictures and realized the subject of their attention was a black bear by the roadside, less than 20 feet from them! I missed seeing the bear. Maybe we’ll see the headlines tomorrow about the folks who risked their lives for a good souvenir photo.
We stopped at the information centre just before the highway split to the left for Ucluelet and to the right for Tofino. The Parks Canada attendant showed us where the best walking trails and beaches were, and we picked up a couple of local maps and brochures.
We took the left road first to Ucluelet. (Are "you clueless", or do you know how to pronounce "Ucluelet"?) At the very end of it, after we passed a number of resort hotels and cabins, plus ice cream stands and whale-watching enterprises, we came to the walking trail we wanted to take. It was about two kilometers long, and wound up and down through rainforest portions and out to various lookout points where we could see a few islands and the mighty Pacific Ocean beyond. There was a plaque describing a shipwreck that occurred in 1905 just below where we were standing, where all 27 passengers drowned only a few feet from the rocky shores. A lighthouse was built the next year, but was destroyed by storms a few years later. The one that’s there now has weathered the storms since 1915, and has been automated since 1988.
Shortly after we looked at the lighthouse, we stopped at another viewing spot to see a pair of magnificent bald eagles perched high on a dead pine tree where they had built a large nest. Thanks to the zoom lens on our camera, we managed to get a couple of good shots. The trail turned into a boardwalk shortly after that point, and parts of it were stairs which helped us climb back up to the parking lot.
On towards Tofino we went, stopping short of the town itself to turn into our resort location. It is a beautifully manicured spot, with landscaped flower beds along the road, which an attendant sweeps regularly to keep the gravel off the pavement. There are some lovely log cabins near the beach and 50 or more campsites of various sizes, nicely separated from each other by shrubs. We realize that we are about as far west of Ottawa as we can get and still be in Canada!
Our plan tonight is to light our first campfire, which is permitted here and for which the firewood is free. An inviting prospect!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
School days
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
PARKSVILLE — We’re back at Riverbend Campground again tonight. It was nice to be welcomed here like old friends, and the campground is still lovely. We had hoped to have a campfire tonight for the first time, but there’s a complete fire ban for Vancouver Island because of the dry weather. Not that we are complaining!
We bid farewell to Victoria this morning and headed for Shawnigan Lake. There’s a school there that my Dad attended as a boy in the 1920s, and we thought we’d stop for a visit. The road was twisty and turny, and took us through more of the island’s pine groves. The lake soon came in to view, with many beautiful homes and cottages nestled on its shores.
We stopped at the Shawnigan Lake Post Office to find out about the school. The postmaster directed us around to the other side of the lake, assuring us it would be easy to find. Sure enough, lovely flower beds, a large sign that said ‘Shawnigan Lake School’, and stone pillars with a wrought iron gate at the entrance were easy to spot. The grounds were beautifully groomed, and there were several buildings in a Tudor style along the curved drive that led us to the main building. It was clearly the original building, dating back to the school’s founding in 1915, and we parked, walked up to the steps, and opened the large wooden door.
Inside was a welcoming lobby with old leather easy chairs and plaques on the wall. A gentleman was coming down the steps as we entered and asked if he could help us. I explained that my Dad had been a student here many years ago and he immediately called a colleague down to greet us and give us a tour.
David Hutchison, the director of annual funds, listened to my few tidbits of information and then took us for a walking tour through the main building as well as others on the campus. There was a gorgeous refectory that looked like the set of a Harry Potter movie, with long wooden tables and a high ceiling where the flags of the different houses of the residences were on display. As we walked toward the chapel — which looked more like a full-fledged church, steeple and all — David said his father was an Anglican clergyman. It turns out he’s the son of Alan Hutchison, former Primate of the Anglican Church, who served as bishop of Montreal when we were there! He is now retired and lives across the lake from the school grounds!
The school operates through the summer with camp activities, but many of the doors David tried to open were locked. That included the history room, down a set of back stairs and past the laundry facility stacked with linens and towels. If its proprietor had been there, we might have had a chance to pour over some old photos of the place and maybe pick out Dad as a boy in some faded group shots.
Back at the main building, David offered us a cup of coffee while he disappeared for a few minutes. He returned with brochures about the school and two videos, one about the history of the school — so we may get to pick Dad out of some old photos after all — when we get back to civilization!
We set off once again, headed this time for Duncan, where we stopped for some groceries. We ate our lunch in the parking lot (our camper’s one-way windows make it nice and private inside no matter where we are) and then went off in search of Queen Margaret’s School. It’s the private girls’ school where Al’s girlfriend Peggy teaches, so we thought it might be fun to take a look. We found it with some help from the Visitor Centre. It’s a nice campus that includes an equestrian school out on the back forty.
Next stop was Chemainus, a small town on the island’s east coast that is known for its murals. It also boasts a major theatre and large hotel. We saw a number of the murals, depicting the logging history of the region. There was a festival under way at the central park, with artisans’ booths, live music and hot dog stands. A small replica of a steam engine on tires was providing rides through the town for visitors. A statue of MacMillan, the namesake of MacMillan Bloedel logging company, stood at the edge of the park overlooking the water where there were still log booms operating.
Not long after our short stop there, we were heading back through Nanaimo and Parksville, and back to our familiar campground for a relaxed and pleasant evening.
PARKSVILLE — We’re back at Riverbend Campground again tonight. It was nice to be welcomed here like old friends, and the campground is still lovely. We had hoped to have a campfire tonight for the first time, but there’s a complete fire ban for Vancouver Island because of the dry weather. Not that we are complaining!
We bid farewell to Victoria this morning and headed for Shawnigan Lake. There’s a school there that my Dad attended as a boy in the 1920s, and we thought we’d stop for a visit. The road was twisty and turny, and took us through more of the island’s pine groves. The lake soon came in to view, with many beautiful homes and cottages nestled on its shores.
We stopped at the Shawnigan Lake Post Office to find out about the school. The postmaster directed us around to the other side of the lake, assuring us it would be easy to find. Sure enough, lovely flower beds, a large sign that said ‘Shawnigan Lake School’, and stone pillars with a wrought iron gate at the entrance were easy to spot. The grounds were beautifully groomed, and there were several buildings in a Tudor style along the curved drive that led us to the main building. It was clearly the original building, dating back to the school’s founding in 1915, and we parked, walked up to the steps, and opened the large wooden door.
Inside was a welcoming lobby with old leather easy chairs and plaques on the wall. A gentleman was coming down the steps as we entered and asked if he could help us. I explained that my Dad had been a student here many years ago and he immediately called a colleague down to greet us and give us a tour.
David Hutchison, the director of annual funds, listened to my few tidbits of information and then took us for a walking tour through the main building as well as others on the campus. There was a gorgeous refectory that looked like the set of a Harry Potter movie, with long wooden tables and a high ceiling where the flags of the different houses of the residences were on display. As we walked toward the chapel — which looked more like a full-fledged church, steeple and all — David said his father was an Anglican clergyman. It turns out he’s the son of Alan Hutchison, former Primate of the Anglican Church, who served as bishop of Montreal when we were there! He is now retired and lives across the lake from the school grounds!
The school operates through the summer with camp activities, but many of the doors David tried to open were locked. That included the history room, down a set of back stairs and past the laundry facility stacked with linens and towels. If its proprietor had been there, we might have had a chance to pour over some old photos of the place and maybe pick out Dad as a boy in some faded group shots.
Back at the main building, David offered us a cup of coffee while he disappeared for a few minutes. He returned with brochures about the school and two videos, one about the history of the school — so we may get to pick Dad out of some old photos after all — when we get back to civilization!
We set off once again, headed this time for Duncan, where we stopped for some groceries. We ate our lunch in the parking lot (our camper’s one-way windows make it nice and private inside no matter where we are) and then went off in search of Queen Margaret’s School. It’s the private girls’ school where Al’s girlfriend Peggy teaches, so we thought it might be fun to take a look. We found it with some help from the Visitor Centre. It’s a nice campus that includes an equestrian school out on the back forty.
Next stop was Chemainus, a small town on the island’s east coast that is known for its murals. It also boasts a major theatre and large hotel. We saw a number of the murals, depicting the logging history of the region. There was a festival under way at the central park, with artisans’ booths, live music and hot dog stands. A small replica of a steam engine on tires was providing rides through the town for visitors. A statue of MacMillan, the namesake of MacMillan Bloedel logging company, stood at the edge of the park overlooking the water where there were still log booms operating.
Not long after our short stop there, we were heading back through Nanaimo and Parksville, and back to our familiar campground for a relaxed and pleasant evening.
A feast for the senses
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
ESQUIMALT — Sights, sounds, scents and flavours tickled our senses throughout this lovely day. With all the things we wanted to see and do, it took some figuring and discussing to work out how we would attempt to accomplish everything. But we managed it all.
The Butchart Gardens were at the top of our list of activities, and we decided to let our GPS lead us there by typing the famous landmark into the little gadget. Then we sat back to follow its directions, but after a few unlikely turns, we began to doubt its choice of routes. We were taken along a very secondary, twisty, bumpy road through farms and wild areas that were quite picturesque but certainly did not appear to be the approach to a world famous garden that draws visitors by the millions! When our patience was almost at its limit, we finally saw the first sign and sure enough, we arrived at our destination. Our return route, we decided, would definitely not be the reverse of what we had just experienced.
The gardens themselves were gorgeous. I had been there some years ago, but it was Val’s first visit. We were both enthralled by the expansive beds of begonias, roses, dahlias and snapdragons, as well as the hundreds of brightly coloured flowers and trees with names unknown to us. Fortunately, we had a handy guidebook to give us the names, classified by colour. The pictures of the bleak limestone quarry that existed there before the Butcharts set to work on their garden were quite a contrast to the beauty around us. There were hundreds of visitors there, speaking languages from every continent. Every now and then the scent of roses or other blooms was carried on the breeze, and we heard the cooling sound of trickling streams and splashing fountains as well.
Taking a much shorter and more direct route, we returned to our campground for lunch, locked up the camper and set out on foot along the boardwalk toward the centre of town. It was a lovely walk, with the harbour on our right the whole way, and parks and condos on our left. We didn’t go the whole way in to town, because our plan was to connect with the Big Bus near a restaurant called Spinnakers. It’s the same hop-on, hop-off tour bus system we used in Vancouver, and that was the closest spot for us to meet up with it.
The bus gave us a 20-stop tour, with commentary, through all of Victoria, including Chinatown, the antiques area, the tony Oak Bay section with its well-groomed mansions, and the harbour. We hopped off near the Empress Hotel to see about stepping in for a spot of tea. When we learned that the pleasure of such a visit would set us back $120, we quickly changed our minds! We couldn’t believe it.
Back on the tour bus, we continued the circuit until we got back to our starting point. It was just about time for supper, so we stopped in at Spinnakers and had an absolutely scrumptious meal. Val had wild BC salmon fettucine, in a sauce with mussels, spinach and coconut milk. The noodles were made on the premises and cooked to a perfect al dente. I chose the fish and chips with garden salad – the fish was salmon for me as well, in a light tempura batter. The chips were crisp outside and soft inside, and the salad had lots of interesting greens and a lovely dressing. Our server told us that the restaurant prides itself on locally grown produce and home made items such as the vinegar and the desserts. Val ordered fresh, homemade raspberry sorbet (fabulous) and I had three delicious dark chocolate truffles, also made on the premises. It was delicious from start to finish and the bill came to $53 for the whole thing! Forget the Empress!
We strolled back to the marina and our camper truck as the sun set on another wonderful day.
ESQUIMALT — Sights, sounds, scents and flavours tickled our senses throughout this lovely day. With all the things we wanted to see and do, it took some figuring and discussing to work out how we would attempt to accomplish everything. But we managed it all.
The Butchart Gardens were at the top of our list of activities, and we decided to let our GPS lead us there by typing the famous landmark into the little gadget. Then we sat back to follow its directions, but after a few unlikely turns, we began to doubt its choice of routes. We were taken along a very secondary, twisty, bumpy road through farms and wild areas that were quite picturesque but certainly did not appear to be the approach to a world famous garden that draws visitors by the millions! When our patience was almost at its limit, we finally saw the first sign and sure enough, we arrived at our destination. Our return route, we decided, would definitely not be the reverse of what we had just experienced.
The gardens themselves were gorgeous. I had been there some years ago, but it was Val’s first visit. We were both enthralled by the expansive beds of begonias, roses, dahlias and snapdragons, as well as the hundreds of brightly coloured flowers and trees with names unknown to us. Fortunately, we had a handy guidebook to give us the names, classified by colour. The pictures of the bleak limestone quarry that existed there before the Butcharts set to work on their garden were quite a contrast to the beauty around us. There were hundreds of visitors there, speaking languages from every continent. Every now and then the scent of roses or other blooms was carried on the breeze, and we heard the cooling sound of trickling streams and splashing fountains as well.
Taking a much shorter and more direct route, we returned to our campground for lunch, locked up the camper and set out on foot along the boardwalk toward the centre of town. It was a lovely walk, with the harbour on our right the whole way, and parks and condos on our left. We didn’t go the whole way in to town, because our plan was to connect with the Big Bus near a restaurant called Spinnakers. It’s the same hop-on, hop-off tour bus system we used in Vancouver, and that was the closest spot for us to meet up with it.
The bus gave us a 20-stop tour, with commentary, through all of Victoria, including Chinatown, the antiques area, the tony Oak Bay section with its well-groomed mansions, and the harbour. We hopped off near the Empress Hotel to see about stepping in for a spot of tea. When we learned that the pleasure of such a visit would set us back $120, we quickly changed our minds! We couldn’t believe it.
Back on the tour bus, we continued the circuit until we got back to our starting point. It was just about time for supper, so we stopped in at Spinnakers and had an absolutely scrumptious meal. Val had wild BC salmon fettucine, in a sauce with mussels, spinach and coconut milk. The noodles were made on the premises and cooked to a perfect al dente. I chose the fish and chips with garden salad – the fish was salmon for me as well, in a light tempura batter. The chips were crisp outside and soft inside, and the salad had lots of interesting greens and a lovely dressing. Our server told us that the restaurant prides itself on locally grown produce and home made items such as the vinegar and the desserts. Val ordered fresh, homemade raspberry sorbet (fabulous) and I had three delicious dark chocolate truffles, also made on the premises. It was delicious from start to finish and the bill came to $53 for the whole thing! Forget the Empress!
We strolled back to the marina and our camper truck as the sun set on another wonderful day.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Brotherly love
Monday, July 21, 2008
ESQUIMALT — Our resting spot for tonight and tomorrow night is the West Bay Marine RV Park, right on the harbour across from Victoria, with yachts and sailboats all around us and seagulls drifting overhead. It’s a perfect spot that we learned about from some campers we were chatting with in Sooke. There’s a boardwalk around the harbour that starts here and will take us right to the Empress Hotel and the heart of the city!
Our route from Sooke took us along the Kangaroo Road — named possibly from the way it hopped up and down and curved from side to side — and along the coast past Royal Roads University and through quite a few built up areas. We saw less of the water than we thought we might, and we guessed that it must have been because the coastline was too much of a challenge to build roads on.
We wanted to get to Victoria in time for a noon-hour outdoor concert at City Hall, starring my brother Al Maybee and his two cohorts, Angie and Ron. Our GPS guidance system was a godsend, telling us every turn and street to take! We even found a parking spot big enough for a large camper truck just around the corner from our destination — not an easy feat right downtown!
We hopped in to the camper and threw together a couple of sandwiches to take with us. By the time we found the large shelter where Al and his fellow performers were, they were playing tunes already — but it was just for a sound check before the concert actually began. There were benches and chairs arranged in front of the bandshell, so we grabbed a seat and were soon joined by Al’s girlfriend Peggy.
The show began, and they did a great job. Angie is a wizard on the keyboards, of which she had two, and her fingers flew through the opening number of the Flight of the Bumblebee! Wow! The trio — they call themselves Three of a Kind — were great, doing foot-stomping renditions of lots of favourites. Al managed a terrific rendition of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World, with a gravelly voice and a trumpet solo. The audience was enjoying every number. One fellow was grooving and dancing to the music with great abandon.
After the group performed I Feel Good, with its exuberant shouts of "Ow!", someone behind the bandshell starting shouting "Ow! Ow! Ow!" and at first we thought he was just in the spirit of things, or high on drugs, or heckling or something. Then we realized something was amiss. Al turned around and spoke to the guy who was really hollering by now — and the mikes were picking up everything he was saying. He had just been stabbed! Al was on his cellphone calling an ambulance, and offered his jacket to pillow the young man’s head while another fellow stripped off his T-shirt to mop up the blood.
Angie, who was the spokesperson for the musical trio, was amazingly calm, and said "fortunately we have a social worker with us", referring to Al. In no time the police arrived and Angie got us back to the performance with some more upbeat numbers. The concert continued while just behind them paramedics and police attended to the crime victim.
Aside from the distraction of paramedics wheeling the fellow off and police mingling amongst the audience asking for witness statements, and after that, news photographers filming the aftermath of the mishap, the concert was a delightful interlude. When the hour was up we trotted off to feed the parking meter and came back to congratulate Al and his fellow musicians, both for their wonderful performance, and for their grace under pressure! Al said the victim had suffered a superficial wound and would probably be OK. He was a bit upset that his jacket had been scooped up by the paramedics. The police officer said he would probably not want the jacket back anyway.
While Peggy and Alan and the others stowed all their gear, we headed off to register at the campground and get settled in. A bit later, Al and Peggy came to get us in Peggy’s nicely air-conditioned truck, and we left our camper truck behind for the first time this trip!
We stopped at a couple of shopping malls, in search of some wine and ingredients for dinner, a radio for our camper and a new jacket for Alan. We succeeded on two out of three items (no jacket, unfortunately). Then we went to Al’s place, where our hosts prepared a lovely meal of bison steaks, scallops wrapped in bacon and a couscous salad, garnished with edible flowers. It was a delicious meal!
While we waited, Val cranked up our new radio — it doesn’t need batteries — and found a newscast telling the story of the stabbing at City Hall. The victim and two culprits were known to police and drugs were involved. His injuries were not life-threatening.
Al took us for a walk around Thetis Lake, just a short distance from his house, after dinner. It was getting dark, so we didn’t do the complete circuit, but we got to the beach where, despite the dipping temperature, four young people decided to go for a swim. A flock of Canada geese on the shore were staring at the two couples as if to say "we were here first!" By the time we headed back to Al’s place, we needed the flashlight to guide us along the path.
ESQUIMALT — Our resting spot for tonight and tomorrow night is the West Bay Marine RV Park, right on the harbour across from Victoria, with yachts and sailboats all around us and seagulls drifting overhead. It’s a perfect spot that we learned about from some campers we were chatting with in Sooke. There’s a boardwalk around the harbour that starts here and will take us right to the Empress Hotel and the heart of the city!
Our route from Sooke took us along the Kangaroo Road — named possibly from the way it hopped up and down and curved from side to side — and along the coast past Royal Roads University and through quite a few built up areas. We saw less of the water than we thought we might, and we guessed that it must have been because the coastline was too much of a challenge to build roads on.
We wanted to get to Victoria in time for a noon-hour outdoor concert at City Hall, starring my brother Al Maybee and his two cohorts, Angie and Ron. Our GPS guidance system was a godsend, telling us every turn and street to take! We even found a parking spot big enough for a large camper truck just around the corner from our destination — not an easy feat right downtown!
We hopped in to the camper and threw together a couple of sandwiches to take with us. By the time we found the large shelter where Al and his fellow performers were, they were playing tunes already — but it was just for a sound check before the concert actually began. There were benches and chairs arranged in front of the bandshell, so we grabbed a seat and were soon joined by Al’s girlfriend Peggy.
The show began, and they did a great job. Angie is a wizard on the keyboards, of which she had two, and her fingers flew through the opening number of the Flight of the Bumblebee! Wow! The trio — they call themselves Three of a Kind — were great, doing foot-stomping renditions of lots of favourites. Al managed a terrific rendition of Louis Armstrong’s What a Wonderful World, with a gravelly voice and a trumpet solo. The audience was enjoying every number. One fellow was grooving and dancing to the music with great abandon.
After the group performed I Feel Good, with its exuberant shouts of "Ow!", someone behind the bandshell starting shouting "Ow! Ow! Ow!" and at first we thought he was just in the spirit of things, or high on drugs, or heckling or something. Then we realized something was amiss. Al turned around and spoke to the guy who was really hollering by now — and the mikes were picking up everything he was saying. He had just been stabbed! Al was on his cellphone calling an ambulance, and offered his jacket to pillow the young man’s head while another fellow stripped off his T-shirt to mop up the blood.
Angie, who was the spokesperson for the musical trio, was amazingly calm, and said "fortunately we have a social worker with us", referring to Al. In no time the police arrived and Angie got us back to the performance with some more upbeat numbers. The concert continued while just behind them paramedics and police attended to the crime victim.
Aside from the distraction of paramedics wheeling the fellow off and police mingling amongst the audience asking for witness statements, and after that, news photographers filming the aftermath of the mishap, the concert was a delightful interlude. When the hour was up we trotted off to feed the parking meter and came back to congratulate Al and his fellow musicians, both for their wonderful performance, and for their grace under pressure! Al said the victim had suffered a superficial wound and would probably be OK. He was a bit upset that his jacket had been scooped up by the paramedics. The police officer said he would probably not want the jacket back anyway.
While Peggy and Alan and the others stowed all their gear, we headed off to register at the campground and get settled in. A bit later, Al and Peggy came to get us in Peggy’s nicely air-conditioned truck, and we left our camper truck behind for the first time this trip!
We stopped at a couple of shopping malls, in search of some wine and ingredients for dinner, a radio for our camper and a new jacket for Alan. We succeeded on two out of three items (no jacket, unfortunately). Then we went to Al’s place, where our hosts prepared a lovely meal of bison steaks, scallops wrapped in bacon and a couscous salad, garnished with edible flowers. It was a delicious meal!
While we waited, Val cranked up our new radio — it doesn’t need batteries — and found a newscast telling the story of the stabbing at City Hall. The victim and two culprits were known to police and drugs were involved. His injuries were not life-threatening.
Al took us for a walk around Thetis Lake, just a short distance from his house, after dinner. It was getting dark, so we didn’t do the complete circuit, but we got to the beach where, despite the dipping temperature, four young people decided to go for a swim. A flock of Canada geese on the shore were staring at the two couples as if to say "we were here first!" By the time we headed back to Al’s place, we needed the flashlight to guide us along the path.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The boardwalk and the spit
Sunday, July 20, 2008
SOOKE — A gentler breeze greeted us this morning when we poked our noses out the door of our little home on wheels. I had scouted out the map of Sooke and the local guidebook to guide us to Trinity Anglican Church on Murray Street. The service was very nice, and the people friendly as Anglicans are wont to be.
In the meantime, Val stopped at a shopping centre nearby where some young fastball players were holding a car wash to raise funds for a team trip to Brantford, Ontario to play in a tournament at the national level. Val gave them a very generous donation in exchange for soaping down our rig and restoring its original sparkling beauty.
We connected again and headed around the bay for a look at East Sooke. The road was steep and winding, and we passed many gracious homes that were positioned to take in a beautiful view over the water. At no point, however, did we find a place for visiting folks like us to enjoy the same view! So, we turned around and came back.
We stopped back at our campground for lunch and a rest, and then set out again to check out the town’s boardwalk. It was at the foot of the same street as the church that I had visited in the morning. We thought it would be similar to the boardwalk at New Liskeard, that skirts the shoreline of Lake Temiskaming. Instead, this one was built on columns anchored in the water, well out from the shore. There was a type of pier at one end from which we could see people fishing, so we went to have a look. It was a dad, mother and kids, fishing for crabs!
They told us they bought a licence and were entitled to four crabs each, as long as they were "keepers". That meant they had to be six inches across, not counting the legs. They had already caught several and the dad showed us one from his cooler. It was a hefty creature, and he described how they cooked it up. It was obviously a fun activity for him and his family. He came originally from Newfoundland, but was stationed here with the military.
We covered the length of the boardwalk, and found that it led us nowhere! It was supposed to join up with a municipal park at the other end, but the construction wasn’t yet complete, so we turned around and went back the way we came. Val said someone told him the boardwalk cost a million dollars to build. Quite a chunk of money for something that takes you nowhere! But the view of the harbour was quite lovely.
Our next stop was to take in another harbour view: the Whiffin Spit. This long finger of land separates Sooke Harbour from the Juan de Fuca Strait and acts as a breakwater. It attracted quite a few Sunday strollers today, although there was a fairly brisk wind blowing across it — enough to flip off my Tilley hat and glasses, even though I had used the chin strap and the back strap to hold it on! There were some nice views of the coastline from the bench we chose to sit on at the end of the spit. It felt good to get in another healthy walk today.
For dinner tonight, we went to a seafood restaurant called Fuse. We sat at a large window overlooking the water, and Val enjoyed BC salmon while I munched on Sooke trout. For dessert he had the lemon-lime tart and I savoured a warm chocolate pudding cake with whipped cream melting on top, and a sprig of mint. Yum.
SOOKE — A gentler breeze greeted us this morning when we poked our noses out the door of our little home on wheels. I had scouted out the map of Sooke and the local guidebook to guide us to Trinity Anglican Church on Murray Street. The service was very nice, and the people friendly as Anglicans are wont to be.
In the meantime, Val stopped at a shopping centre nearby where some young fastball players were holding a car wash to raise funds for a team trip to Brantford, Ontario to play in a tournament at the national level. Val gave them a very generous donation in exchange for soaping down our rig and restoring its original sparkling beauty.
We connected again and headed around the bay for a look at East Sooke. The road was steep and winding, and we passed many gracious homes that were positioned to take in a beautiful view over the water. At no point, however, did we find a place for visiting folks like us to enjoy the same view! So, we turned around and came back.
We stopped back at our campground for lunch and a rest, and then set out again to check out the town’s boardwalk. It was at the foot of the same street as the church that I had visited in the morning. We thought it would be similar to the boardwalk at New Liskeard, that skirts the shoreline of Lake Temiskaming. Instead, this one was built on columns anchored in the water, well out from the shore. There was a type of pier at one end from which we could see people fishing, so we went to have a look. It was a dad, mother and kids, fishing for crabs!
They told us they bought a licence and were entitled to four crabs each, as long as they were "keepers". That meant they had to be six inches across, not counting the legs. They had already caught several and the dad showed us one from his cooler. It was a hefty creature, and he described how they cooked it up. It was obviously a fun activity for him and his family. He came originally from Newfoundland, but was stationed here with the military.
We covered the length of the boardwalk, and found that it led us nowhere! It was supposed to join up with a municipal park at the other end, but the construction wasn’t yet complete, so we turned around and went back the way we came. Val said someone told him the boardwalk cost a million dollars to build. Quite a chunk of money for something that takes you nowhere! But the view of the harbour was quite lovely.
Our next stop was to take in another harbour view: the Whiffin Spit. This long finger of land separates Sooke Harbour from the Juan de Fuca Strait and acts as a breakwater. It attracted quite a few Sunday strollers today, although there was a fairly brisk wind blowing across it — enough to flip off my Tilley hat and glasses, even though I had used the chin strap and the back strap to hold it on! There were some nice views of the coastline from the bench we chose to sit on at the end of the spit. It felt good to get in another healthy walk today.
For dinner tonight, we went to a seafood restaurant called Fuse. We sat at a large window overlooking the water, and Val enjoyed BC salmon while I munched on Sooke trout. For dessert he had the lemon-lime tart and I savoured a warm chocolate pudding cake with whipped cream melting on top, and a sprig of mint. Yum.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Tiny worlds
Saturday, July 19, 2008
SOOKE — Our destination today was Port Renfrew, the end of the road on the southwest tip of Vancouver Island. It would bring us along the same road we took to meet up with Al and Peggy last night, but then we continued on as far as we could go — on decently paved roads, at least. Hardy folks could go on from there, but on much rougher gravel roads not suitable for rented equipment.
Just before the Point No Point resort was the entrance to French Beach Provincial Park, another stopping spot we had considered for this area, before we lucked out with the full service park where we are now and tomorrow night again. The French Beach campground, while devoid of services such as water and electricity, was nevertheless absolutely gorgeous. Every site was generous and secluded, with a sturdy concrete and wood picnic table and ample parking for one or even two vehicles. Between and around the sites were huge fronds of fern and tall, straight pine trees. It was probably the most beautiful campground we have ever seen.
We took the hiking path from the day-use parking lot to the beach and found a rugged shoreline with rounded stones and rocks shifting in a pounding surf. It was downright cold, although the sun was shining! There was a strong wind off the water that made us glad we had donned several layers of clothing. We covered a kilometer or so before we got back to the camper, where we climbed aboard for a bite of lunch.
Then on we went in a northerly direction towards Port Renfrew, with the ocean to our left and forest and rocks to our right. The highway became narrower and rougher the further we went, with more twists and turns than a bag of pretzels. We passed a number of beaches, and signs almost the whole way for Juan de Fuca Provincial Park. We figured the park consisted chiefly of the entire coastline from Sooke to Port Renfrew, with different beach sections along the way.
The twists and turns were combined with plenty of ups and downs as the highway wended its way through the rough coastal terrain. We seemed to pass through more than one weather system as well. The sun was shining brightly for a while, then it clouded over and then for one short spell we thought we might be plunged into fog as the clouds began to obscure some of the taller treetops. Then, a few kilometers further, it was sunny again!
We weren’t able to go very fast with this challenging roadway, so although the distance (about 50 km) didn’t seem great, the time it took to cover it was quite a bit longer than if we had been on straight highways. Finally we arrived at Port Renfrew, and we found the signs for Botanical Beach and Botany Bay — both features of Juan de Fuca Park.
We changed into our hiking boots for this trek, and it was a good thing we did. There were some very steep sections of path, and when we got to the beach, the rocky surface gave our footwear a workout. Botanical Beach boasts a large number of tidal pools of various sizes where ocean creatures are trapped when the tide recedes. It’s a great place to look at marine microcosms filled with crabs, urchins, seaweed, anemones and tiny flitting minnows. The pools have been carved into huge flat rocks that resemble the Canadian Shield in Ontario, only pock-marked by the erosion of the water. Closer to the forest edge of the beach were stacks of bleached driftwood logs, some with white splayed roots reaching up toward the sky.
The path down to and back from the beach took us through thick rainforest, sometimes so thick it felt like a leafy tunnel! There were some sections that looked like haunted forests with twisted tree branches that looked like so many skinny arms and fingers. Other parts had felled trees that had rotted into soft, moist habitats for miniature new saplings and delicate wildflowers that looked like tiny pink bells. Soft tufts of lichens were clinging to the rough bark of the Douglas firs, and drippy moss hung down from other branches to add to the spooky look.
Underfoot we had spongy needles for some of the way, but there were rocky sections as well, and some parts that were covered with boardwalks to make the path a bit easier to navigate. We were huffing and puffing in the final leg back up to the parking lot about two hours later. It was a good workout!
We rewarded ourselves with an ice cream cone in the village before retracing our steps back to our campground. On the way back, we came up to an RCMP car with its lights flashing, and had to stop and sit for about 10 minutes. Someone had taken the twists and turns too quickly and almost went over the edge. Fortunately the concrete barrier held them back, but we had to wait for the tow truck to clear the road. We were glad to learn that no one had been hurt.
SOOKE — Our destination today was Port Renfrew, the end of the road on the southwest tip of Vancouver Island. It would bring us along the same road we took to meet up with Al and Peggy last night, but then we continued on as far as we could go — on decently paved roads, at least. Hardy folks could go on from there, but on much rougher gravel roads not suitable for rented equipment.
Just before the Point No Point resort was the entrance to French Beach Provincial Park, another stopping spot we had considered for this area, before we lucked out with the full service park where we are now and tomorrow night again. The French Beach campground, while devoid of services such as water and electricity, was nevertheless absolutely gorgeous. Every site was generous and secluded, with a sturdy concrete and wood picnic table and ample parking for one or even two vehicles. Between and around the sites were huge fronds of fern and tall, straight pine trees. It was probably the most beautiful campground we have ever seen.
We took the hiking path from the day-use parking lot to the beach and found a rugged shoreline with rounded stones and rocks shifting in a pounding surf. It was downright cold, although the sun was shining! There was a strong wind off the water that made us glad we had donned several layers of clothing. We covered a kilometer or so before we got back to the camper, where we climbed aboard for a bite of lunch.
Then on we went in a northerly direction towards Port Renfrew, with the ocean to our left and forest and rocks to our right. The highway became narrower and rougher the further we went, with more twists and turns than a bag of pretzels. We passed a number of beaches, and signs almost the whole way for Juan de Fuca Provincial Park. We figured the park consisted chiefly of the entire coastline from Sooke to Port Renfrew, with different beach sections along the way.
The twists and turns were combined with plenty of ups and downs as the highway wended its way through the rough coastal terrain. We seemed to pass through more than one weather system as well. The sun was shining brightly for a while, then it clouded over and then for one short spell we thought we might be plunged into fog as the clouds began to obscure some of the taller treetops. Then, a few kilometers further, it was sunny again!
We weren’t able to go very fast with this challenging roadway, so although the distance (about 50 km) didn’t seem great, the time it took to cover it was quite a bit longer than if we had been on straight highways. Finally we arrived at Port Renfrew, and we found the signs for Botanical Beach and Botany Bay — both features of Juan de Fuca Park.
We changed into our hiking boots for this trek, and it was a good thing we did. There were some very steep sections of path, and when we got to the beach, the rocky surface gave our footwear a workout. Botanical Beach boasts a large number of tidal pools of various sizes where ocean creatures are trapped when the tide recedes. It’s a great place to look at marine microcosms filled with crabs, urchins, seaweed, anemones and tiny flitting minnows. The pools have been carved into huge flat rocks that resemble the Canadian Shield in Ontario, only pock-marked by the erosion of the water. Closer to the forest edge of the beach were stacks of bleached driftwood logs, some with white splayed roots reaching up toward the sky.
The path down to and back from the beach took us through thick rainforest, sometimes so thick it felt like a leafy tunnel! There were some sections that looked like haunted forests with twisted tree branches that looked like so many skinny arms and fingers. Other parts had felled trees that had rotted into soft, moist habitats for miniature new saplings and delicate wildflowers that looked like tiny pink bells. Soft tufts of lichens were clinging to the rough bark of the Douglas firs, and drippy moss hung down from other branches to add to the spooky look.
Underfoot we had spongy needles for some of the way, but there were rocky sections as well, and some parts that were covered with boardwalks to make the path a bit easier to navigate. We were huffing and puffing in the final leg back up to the parking lot about two hours later. It was a good workout!
We rewarded ourselves with an ice cream cone in the village before retracing our steps back to our campground. On the way back, we came up to an RCMP car with its lights flashing, and had to stop and sit for about 10 minutes. Someone had taken the twists and turns too quickly and almost went over the edge. Fortunately the concrete barrier held them back, but we had to wait for the tow truck to clear the road. We were glad to learn that no one had been hurt.
What’s good for the goose...
Friday, July 18, 2008
SOOKE, VANCOUVER ISLAND — Our settling place for tonight is a real bonus. We looked at the BC camping guide for a campground near Sooke, our destination for today, and found a couple of possibilities, but the guide says you can’t reserve a space less than two days prior to arrival. So we had to just show up and hope there would be space — on a beautiful weekend at the height of camping season.
We left Parksville at a good hour and figured we would arrive in the early afternoon, so that might improve our chances. We stopped for an early lunch in Nanaimo, because I spotted a Tim Hortons by the road — always an attraction for a lover of good coffee like Val. I thought I could accomplish my goal of consuming a Naniamo bar in Nanaimo, since Timmie’s sells them at most places, but to my surprise the cashier said they didn’t carry them at this one any more! Of all places to drop that particular delicacy! She suggested I look at the grocery store in the same mall, and I did find them there, but in a package of six. That’s just too many — they are so rich! I’ll have to look again when we pass through Nanaimo the next time.
After quite a bit of seacoast scenery, we entered a section of highway that cut through great rock formations and climbed steeply. There were lots of tall pine trees and Douglas firs on either side of the road as well. Then we were into strip mall suburbia for great stretches as we approached Victoria at the south end of the island. Our destination was Sooke, so we took the bypass route without going in to Victoria proper; that comes later.
We turned in at the sign for Sooke Potholes Provincial Park to see if there was any chance of a camping spot there, although it was still a fair distance from Sooke. There were lots of people enjoying the swimming area — where there are quite a few deep "potholes" in the Sooke riverbed that give the park its name. Then we saw the sign that said "campground full". We continued on, looking for the kiosk where we could ask someone for suggestions, but it was very poorly marked along the narrow road. We guessed they saw little need for clear directions to an area people flocked to in droves. Finally, we found the registration office and the fellow there said even the walk-in sites that are not reservable were already filled.
So on we went toward the town of Sooke, catching glimpses of the bay and the Pacific Ocean beyond. Closer to town was a visitor information building, so we stopped there to inquire. They too told us that most provincial campgrounds fill very quickly on summer weekends. However, there was a municipal campground just a short way up the side road that might have space — and it included services like electricity and showers, which the provincial ones do not.
What a lucky break. The Sooke River Campground is a large, grassy stretch with generous sites, each separated from the next with towering fir trees, and right next to the river where flocks of geese congregate — and even a beautiful white swan! We were delighted, and booked it for three nights on the spot.
We had a bit of time to explore the place and relax before setting off for the Point No Point Resort where we were meeting Alan and his girlfriend Peggy for dinner. The road twisted and turned through forest and along the coast some 14 kilometers beyond Sooke itself. We passed many bed and breakfasts along the way, and finally arrived at our destination. Al said he’d be heading there right after work and should get there by 7 o’clock, so we were a bit early. The receptionist gave us a map of the resort and invited us to have a look around. What a lovely spot, right on the water, with a rocky beach strewn with bleached driftwood looking out to sea, and lots of intriguing walking paths down to it. There are a dozen or so small cabins.
By the time we got back to the office, Al and Peggy were registering, so when they turned around, there we were! We were supposed to eat a gourmet dinner in the restaurant, but they had space for only two, not four. So while we figured out what to do, we went down to see the cabin they would be using. It was lovely, with a little deck overlooking the water, a kitchenette, a two-seater rocking chair and even a hot tub outside! It would have to be hot to entice me, with the very fresh breeze coming in from the water.
Peggy suggested we order room service for dinner from the restaurant and eat at the cabin. She had brought fixings for a crab cake appetizer which she set out to prepare while we waited. She used to have a catering business, and her expertise was quite evident in the delicious and beautifully presented dish she set before us a few minutes later. Al popped out to pick up the main course later on and we had a lovely evening of good food, wine and conversation.
While it was still somewhat light — at least not pitch black — we made our way back to our campground. We watched a huge orange moon rise above the deep blue sky over the bay. We’ll be seeing more of my brother and Peggy on Monday.
SOOKE, VANCOUVER ISLAND — Our settling place for tonight is a real bonus. We looked at the BC camping guide for a campground near Sooke, our destination for today, and found a couple of possibilities, but the guide says you can’t reserve a space less than two days prior to arrival. So we had to just show up and hope there would be space — on a beautiful weekend at the height of camping season.
We left Parksville at a good hour and figured we would arrive in the early afternoon, so that might improve our chances. We stopped for an early lunch in Nanaimo, because I spotted a Tim Hortons by the road — always an attraction for a lover of good coffee like Val. I thought I could accomplish my goal of consuming a Naniamo bar in Nanaimo, since Timmie’s sells them at most places, but to my surprise the cashier said they didn’t carry them at this one any more! Of all places to drop that particular delicacy! She suggested I look at the grocery store in the same mall, and I did find them there, but in a package of six. That’s just too many — they are so rich! I’ll have to look again when we pass through Nanaimo the next time.
After quite a bit of seacoast scenery, we entered a section of highway that cut through great rock formations and climbed steeply. There were lots of tall pine trees and Douglas firs on either side of the road as well. Then we were into strip mall suburbia for great stretches as we approached Victoria at the south end of the island. Our destination was Sooke, so we took the bypass route without going in to Victoria proper; that comes later.
We turned in at the sign for Sooke Potholes Provincial Park to see if there was any chance of a camping spot there, although it was still a fair distance from Sooke. There were lots of people enjoying the swimming area — where there are quite a few deep "potholes" in the Sooke riverbed that give the park its name. Then we saw the sign that said "campground full". We continued on, looking for the kiosk where we could ask someone for suggestions, but it was very poorly marked along the narrow road. We guessed they saw little need for clear directions to an area people flocked to in droves. Finally, we found the registration office and the fellow there said even the walk-in sites that are not reservable were already filled.
So on we went toward the town of Sooke, catching glimpses of the bay and the Pacific Ocean beyond. Closer to town was a visitor information building, so we stopped there to inquire. They too told us that most provincial campgrounds fill very quickly on summer weekends. However, there was a municipal campground just a short way up the side road that might have space — and it included services like electricity and showers, which the provincial ones do not.
What a lucky break. The Sooke River Campground is a large, grassy stretch with generous sites, each separated from the next with towering fir trees, and right next to the river where flocks of geese congregate — and even a beautiful white swan! We were delighted, and booked it for three nights on the spot.
We had a bit of time to explore the place and relax before setting off for the Point No Point Resort where we were meeting Alan and his girlfriend Peggy for dinner. The road twisted and turned through forest and along the coast some 14 kilometers beyond Sooke itself. We passed many bed and breakfasts along the way, and finally arrived at our destination. Al said he’d be heading there right after work and should get there by 7 o’clock, so we were a bit early. The receptionist gave us a map of the resort and invited us to have a look around. What a lovely spot, right on the water, with a rocky beach strewn with bleached driftwood looking out to sea, and lots of intriguing walking paths down to it. There are a dozen or so small cabins.
By the time we got back to the office, Al and Peggy were registering, so when they turned around, there we were! We were supposed to eat a gourmet dinner in the restaurant, but they had space for only two, not four. So while we figured out what to do, we went down to see the cabin they would be using. It was lovely, with a little deck overlooking the water, a kitchenette, a two-seater rocking chair and even a hot tub outside! It would have to be hot to entice me, with the very fresh breeze coming in from the water.
Peggy suggested we order room service for dinner from the restaurant and eat at the cabin. She had brought fixings for a crab cake appetizer which she set out to prepare while we waited. She used to have a catering business, and her expertise was quite evident in the delicious and beautifully presented dish she set before us a few minutes later. Al popped out to pick up the main course later on and we had a lovely evening of good food, wine and conversation.
While it was still somewhat light — at least not pitch black — we made our way back to our campground. We watched a huge orange moon rise above the deep blue sky over the bay. We’ll be seeing more of my brother and Peggy on Monday.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Prince Charles’s tea
Thursday, July 17, 2008
PARKSVILLE, VANCOUVER ISLAND — Tonight we’re stationed at our third site at the same campground! They’ve had lots of customers here and it’s no wonder – it is a beautiful spot with tall fir trees and cabins placed in a ring around a nice grassy area where the kids can romp and play. Tomorrow we head south toward Victoria.
It was a slower-paced day today. We had a leisurely start, and then headed first for the grocery store in Parksville for a few items. Then we explored the town a bit. Parksville and neighbouring Qualicum Beach have the most temperate climate year round in all of Canada, and that reputation has drawn retired folks here like a magnet. There are resort hotels under construction, as well as some very chic housing developments. In one we drove through, there were houses that overlooked the beach and the Georgia Strait on one side, and if that got too boring, the people could go to the back of the house and gaze on the snow-topped mountains in the other direction! Not hard to take!
There are some gardens that have real palm trees in them, which is almost unbelievable. Most peoples’ lawns are very dry and yellow, but the flowers and shrubs are lush and green – and there are lots of varieties of plants I’ve never seen before.
We backed our camper into a parking area in one neighbourhood so that we could look at the beach and the waves while we ate our lunch. The breeze was pretty cool, but that didn’t deter some people from wading in the water. It didn’t tempt me!
The camper is turning out to be quite comfortable for the two of us. After the luxury of the fifth wheel, with its two slides, easy chairs, sofa and microwave, we weren’t sure what it would be like squeezing into this tiny environment, but we have everything we need, more space than we expected (for storage), and we find the mobility and convenience to be an added bonus. Val still marvels at the compact turning circle of this truck compared to the one at home! And it has power mirrors that extend and retract and even fold in electronically when we need to fit into a tighter space.
In the afternoon we visited the Milner Gardens, a combination of natural forest and cultivated areas that are informal enough to seem equally natural. The homestead was built in the late 1920s and purchased by the Milners in the thirties. Mrs. Milner had connections with British aristocracy and imported plants and ideas from English gardens to apply here. The literature says Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip stayed here during their 1987 royal visit, and Charles and Diana did on another occasion.
The place had a work-in-progress kind of feel during our visit, because there were workmen hammering and banging on a new roof for the main house, and folding tables were scattered about the grounds as if a wedding had just taken place, or was about to.
The garden was clearly a community resource; one section was a children’s food garden where the beds were edged with rocks on which kids had painted faces and designs, and the plants were growing from old rubber boots and shoes! There was lettuce and orange flowers on pumpkin vines, and nasturtiums and tall dill plants.
Visitors could enjoy a cup of tea in the tea room of the main house, so we decided this might be nice. There were lovely flowered teacups and saucers, and fat pots of tea wearing quilted floral cozies, and we each were served a plate with a warm scone and three squares. There was butter, and jam made from Milner Garden fruits to spread on the scones. Our window table overlooked the lawn and garden, and beyond that were the beach and distant mountains. We watched a bunch of squirmy day-camp kids who were sitting on the grass, supposedly drawing the flowers around them, but more often than not turning cartwheels on the grass instead!
We headed back to the campground early and enjoyed some down time, reading in our lawn chairs and enjoying the day. I got a load of laundry done at the same time, so we are ready to travel tomorrow.
PARKSVILLE, VANCOUVER ISLAND — Tonight we’re stationed at our third site at the same campground! They’ve had lots of customers here and it’s no wonder – it is a beautiful spot with tall fir trees and cabins placed in a ring around a nice grassy area where the kids can romp and play. Tomorrow we head south toward Victoria.
It was a slower-paced day today. We had a leisurely start, and then headed first for the grocery store in Parksville for a few items. Then we explored the town a bit. Parksville and neighbouring Qualicum Beach have the most temperate climate year round in all of Canada, and that reputation has drawn retired folks here like a magnet. There are resort hotels under construction, as well as some very chic housing developments. In one we drove through, there were houses that overlooked the beach and the Georgia Strait on one side, and if that got too boring, the people could go to the back of the house and gaze on the snow-topped mountains in the other direction! Not hard to take!
There are some gardens that have real palm trees in them, which is almost unbelievable. Most peoples’ lawns are very dry and yellow, but the flowers and shrubs are lush and green – and there are lots of varieties of plants I’ve never seen before.
We backed our camper into a parking area in one neighbourhood so that we could look at the beach and the waves while we ate our lunch. The breeze was pretty cool, but that didn’t deter some people from wading in the water. It didn’t tempt me!
The camper is turning out to be quite comfortable for the two of us. After the luxury of the fifth wheel, with its two slides, easy chairs, sofa and microwave, we weren’t sure what it would be like squeezing into this tiny environment, but we have everything we need, more space than we expected (for storage), and we find the mobility and convenience to be an added bonus. Val still marvels at the compact turning circle of this truck compared to the one at home! And it has power mirrors that extend and retract and even fold in electronically when we need to fit into a tighter space.
In the afternoon we visited the Milner Gardens, a combination of natural forest and cultivated areas that are informal enough to seem equally natural. The homestead was built in the late 1920s and purchased by the Milners in the thirties. Mrs. Milner had connections with British aristocracy and imported plants and ideas from English gardens to apply here. The literature says Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip stayed here during their 1987 royal visit, and Charles and Diana did on another occasion.
The place had a work-in-progress kind of feel during our visit, because there were workmen hammering and banging on a new roof for the main house, and folding tables were scattered about the grounds as if a wedding had just taken place, or was about to.
The garden was clearly a community resource; one section was a children’s food garden where the beds were edged with rocks on which kids had painted faces and designs, and the plants were growing from old rubber boots and shoes! There was lettuce and orange flowers on pumpkin vines, and nasturtiums and tall dill plants.
Visitors could enjoy a cup of tea in the tea room of the main house, so we decided this might be nice. There were lovely flowered teacups and saucers, and fat pots of tea wearing quilted floral cozies, and we each were served a plate with a warm scone and three squares. There was butter, and jam made from Milner Garden fruits to spread on the scones. Our window table overlooked the lawn and garden, and beyond that were the beach and distant mountains. We watched a bunch of squirmy day-camp kids who were sitting on the grass, supposedly drawing the flowers around them, but more often than not turning cartwheels on the grass instead!
We headed back to the campground early and enjoyed some down time, reading in our lawn chairs and enjoying the day. I got a load of laundry done at the same time, so we are ready to travel tomorrow.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Island hopping
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
PARKSVILLE, VANCOUVER ISLAND — We’re at the same campground again tonight, but in a different spot. It provides a nice view of the Englishman River flowing by at the bottom of the hill below us.
Today we decided to visit Denman and Hornby Islands, some 40 km north of here. We caught the 10 o’clock ferry across to the first, larger island — a short 10-minute crossing. We stopped at Fillongley Provincial Park, and took a short walking trail that meandered through some beautiful old growth forest where it was cool and quiet. As we approached a clearing, I caught sight of a deer a few yards ahead, nibbling at the leaves of a small tree. We watched for several minutes until it wandered into the bush.
The trail brought us back to the beach area where we had parked, so we headed down to it. It had rather course, dark sand, sprinkled generously with stones and bits of shells, and three clear lines of seaweed to indicate the height of recent tides. The edge of the water was quite far off, with rocky shallow areas closer to us that sparkled in the sun. I reached down to pick up a smooth, round sand dollar, and away scuttled a tiny crab from underneath. Then I noticed there were hundreds of these minuscule crabs scampering about in and around the shells and stones!
We chatted with one of the local residents, an older man who had brought his two teenage granddaughters to the beach (turned out they were visiting from Carp, ON), and he said normally at this time of year the beach is crawling with visitors, but there were much fewer this year.
We paused for a bite of lunch in the camper before heading across the island to catch the next ferry for Hornby Island, another 10-minute hop. Hornby is much smaller, but boasts two provincial parks, as well as a vibrant artistic community. We passed lots of artisans’ locations on the winding road that brought us to Helliwell Provincial Park at the island’s southeastern tip.
We put on our hiking boots for this tour, as it was going to take us through forest and out to the bluffs in a one and a half hour circuit. There were big fronds of ferns on the forest floor and more of the wonderful, towering Douglas firs overhead. The path took us to a higher level and finally opened onto a cliff covered with tall grass that was bleached yellow by the sun. In the distance were blue, snow-topped mountains, then the sparkling water of the Georgia Strait, and large rocks and boulders on the shore below. It was simply breathtaking. It was also pretty warm walking along the cliffs in the full sun, after our cool forest interlude earlier. We stopped to take a photo of an arbutus tree — and I heard some rustling in the undergrowth near the tree. We froze. What was it? We could see the shape of some animal’s body but it wasn’t clear. Finally, we saw a pair of longish ears and a slender snout and realized it was a deer! There was another near the first, and they were both nibbling on the thick bushes in which they stood, barely visible. What a surprise! And a relief, considering what else it might be.
Just a bit further around the bend we spotted a bald eagle, and then another, and then two more! They were flying out from the trees to the rocky shore, looking for fish to eat. What magnificent birds! There was even a nice bench by the path in the shade, so we sat and watched them for a while and cooled off a bit. Then it was back through the forest to the parking lot.
We almost had the path to ourselves the whole time. We did meet another couple with their dog, and the man offered to snap a photo of the two of us together. During our short conversation, he asked Val what kind of work he did, and Val told him about his RCMP career. As we parted ways, he thanked Val for his service as a police officer — it was one of the first times anyone had ever done that!
The second park was Tribune Bay Provincial Park. We were both pretty tired from our long hike, but wanted to see what it was like. It’s a very small park, but has a huge, wide, sandy beach in a lovely cove, where all kinds of people were swimming and sunning themselves and having a great time. In the water beyond were dozens of pleasure boats anchored and enjoying the day. It was a beautiful spot.
We headed back to the ferry, and found ourselves second in line with 45 minutes to kill before sailing time. We set up our lawn chairs in the shade, and struck up a conversation with a man who had arrived by bicycle to catch the same ferry. It turned out he was a retired police officer from the Calgary Police Service and knew the one CPS member we had met, on our trip to Brazil a few years ago! We offered him a ride across Denman Island back to his car on the mainland and had an interesting conversation. He now lives in Qualicum Beach, and we have an invitation to drop in for a visit when we pass through the next time.
PARKSVILLE, VANCOUVER ISLAND — We’re at the same campground again tonight, but in a different spot. It provides a nice view of the Englishman River flowing by at the bottom of the hill below us.
Today we decided to visit Denman and Hornby Islands, some 40 km north of here. We caught the 10 o’clock ferry across to the first, larger island — a short 10-minute crossing. We stopped at Fillongley Provincial Park, and took a short walking trail that meandered through some beautiful old growth forest where it was cool and quiet. As we approached a clearing, I caught sight of a deer a few yards ahead, nibbling at the leaves of a small tree. We watched for several minutes until it wandered into the bush.
The trail brought us back to the beach area where we had parked, so we headed down to it. It had rather course, dark sand, sprinkled generously with stones and bits of shells, and three clear lines of seaweed to indicate the height of recent tides. The edge of the water was quite far off, with rocky shallow areas closer to us that sparkled in the sun. I reached down to pick up a smooth, round sand dollar, and away scuttled a tiny crab from underneath. Then I noticed there were hundreds of these minuscule crabs scampering about in and around the shells and stones!
We chatted with one of the local residents, an older man who had brought his two teenage granddaughters to the beach (turned out they were visiting from Carp, ON), and he said normally at this time of year the beach is crawling with visitors, but there were much fewer this year.
We paused for a bite of lunch in the camper before heading across the island to catch the next ferry for Hornby Island, another 10-minute hop. Hornby is much smaller, but boasts two provincial parks, as well as a vibrant artistic community. We passed lots of artisans’ locations on the winding road that brought us to Helliwell Provincial Park at the island’s southeastern tip.
We put on our hiking boots for this tour, as it was going to take us through forest and out to the bluffs in a one and a half hour circuit. There were big fronds of ferns on the forest floor and more of the wonderful, towering Douglas firs overhead. The path took us to a higher level and finally opened onto a cliff covered with tall grass that was bleached yellow by the sun. In the distance were blue, snow-topped mountains, then the sparkling water of the Georgia Strait, and large rocks and boulders on the shore below. It was simply breathtaking. It was also pretty warm walking along the cliffs in the full sun, after our cool forest interlude earlier. We stopped to take a photo of an arbutus tree — and I heard some rustling in the undergrowth near the tree. We froze. What was it? We could see the shape of some animal’s body but it wasn’t clear. Finally, we saw a pair of longish ears and a slender snout and realized it was a deer! There was another near the first, and they were both nibbling on the thick bushes in which they stood, barely visible. What a surprise! And a relief, considering what else it might be.
Just a bit further around the bend we spotted a bald eagle, and then another, and then two more! They were flying out from the trees to the rocky shore, looking for fish to eat. What magnificent birds! There was even a nice bench by the path in the shade, so we sat and watched them for a while and cooled off a bit. Then it was back through the forest to the parking lot.
We almost had the path to ourselves the whole time. We did meet another couple with their dog, and the man offered to snap a photo of the two of us together. During our short conversation, he asked Val what kind of work he did, and Val told him about his RCMP career. As we parted ways, he thanked Val for his service as a police officer — it was one of the first times anyone had ever done that!
The second park was Tribune Bay Provincial Park. We were both pretty tired from our long hike, but wanted to see what it was like. It’s a very small park, but has a huge, wide, sandy beach in a lovely cove, where all kinds of people were swimming and sunning themselves and having a great time. In the water beyond were dozens of pleasure boats anchored and enjoying the day. It was a beautiful spot.
We headed back to the ferry, and found ourselves second in line with 45 minutes to kill before sailing time. We set up our lawn chairs in the shade, and struck up a conversation with a man who had arrived by bicycle to catch the same ferry. It turned out he was a retired police officer from the Calgary Police Service and knew the one CPS member we had met, on our trip to Brazil a few years ago! We offered him a ride across Denman Island back to his car on the mainland and had an interesting conversation. He now lives in Qualicum Beach, and we have an invitation to drop in for a visit when we pass through the next time.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Of forests and farms
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
PARKSVILLE, VANCOUVER ISLAND — It was pretty cool overnight, but we were warm enough in our little camper, and woke up to a beautiful, clear and sunny morning. We decided to have a look at the Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park — where the famed Douglas firs stand hundreds of feet tall with massive, wide trunks.
We turned away from the eastern coastline at Qualicum Beach and headed west toward the grove. Before long we were in the cool green forest with giant evergreens on either side of the highway. To the locals, this was simply the route through to Port Alberni, but to us it was a magical sight. Soon we saw the signs for the grove, and prepared to turn off the highway for a hike.
To our surprise, the parking area was merely a widening of the highway on either side where only 10 or 15 cars could park! And, even more frustrating, every spot was taken on both sides! We had no choice but to drive on past. About a kilometer further, there was a lay-by where we pulled off. We decided to eat our lunch, since it was about that time anyway, and then go back to the grove for a second try.
Luckily this time there was a good spot for the camper truck, which we claimed happily. In no time we were walking through this magnificent stand of trees, some of which are 800 years old! The forest floor was carpeted with needles and knarled roots and sprinkled with pine cones. Fronds of fern grew between the trees, and the giant trunks soared up into the sky, some of them velveted with moss and even studded with small plants that had taken hold. The moisture of the rainforest laced many of the shorter trees with drippy swags of moss that gave them an almost spooky appearance.
Huge logs of felled trees had been sliced through to allow the footpath to continue through the grove, and from the mossy bark, smaller plants had begun to take hold and grow. We came across a small stream at one point, and the water was so clear you could see every pebble on the bottom! It was like walking through the pages of a calendar!
On our way back toward Qualicum Beach, we stopped at a cheeseworks that was advertised in the tourist brochure. It was a cute, family-oriented place with chickens, pigs, sheep, goats and cows. Humorous signs labeled each area and explained a bit about the animals. There was also a windowed building where you could watch the cheese preparation process — but the signs admitted it was as exciting as watching paint dry! In the little gift shop, they had tubs of cheese cut into small cubes, with toothpicks so you could sample the various kinds. We couldn’t resist buying a bag of squeaky curds to nibble on.
Our next destination was the beach, which we had seen in our travels today but wanted to get out and experience. A wide expanse of shore line overlooked the strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland, and in the distance we could see blue mountains topped with snow, and crowned with white puffy clouds. The beach itself was not sandy, but made of small rocks rounded by the constant surf. A few shells could be seen, and some seaweed. Val waded into the water but found the footing to be a bit unstable without water shoes. He said the water was nice.
We christened our new gas barbeque that we bought yesterday at Canadian Tire by cooking up some tasty pork chops for supper. Rounded out with fresh salad, cherries for dessert and a nice cup of tea, it brought a lovely day to a very pleasant close.
PARKSVILLE, VANCOUVER ISLAND — It was pretty cool overnight, but we were warm enough in our little camper, and woke up to a beautiful, clear and sunny morning. We decided to have a look at the Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park — where the famed Douglas firs stand hundreds of feet tall with massive, wide trunks.
We turned away from the eastern coastline at Qualicum Beach and headed west toward the grove. Before long we were in the cool green forest with giant evergreens on either side of the highway. To the locals, this was simply the route through to Port Alberni, but to us it was a magical sight. Soon we saw the signs for the grove, and prepared to turn off the highway for a hike.
To our surprise, the parking area was merely a widening of the highway on either side where only 10 or 15 cars could park! And, even more frustrating, every spot was taken on both sides! We had no choice but to drive on past. About a kilometer further, there was a lay-by where we pulled off. We decided to eat our lunch, since it was about that time anyway, and then go back to the grove for a second try.
Luckily this time there was a good spot for the camper truck, which we claimed happily. In no time we were walking through this magnificent stand of trees, some of which are 800 years old! The forest floor was carpeted with needles and knarled roots and sprinkled with pine cones. Fronds of fern grew between the trees, and the giant trunks soared up into the sky, some of them velveted with moss and even studded with small plants that had taken hold. The moisture of the rainforest laced many of the shorter trees with drippy swags of moss that gave them an almost spooky appearance.
Huge logs of felled trees had been sliced through to allow the footpath to continue through the grove, and from the mossy bark, smaller plants had begun to take hold and grow. We came across a small stream at one point, and the water was so clear you could see every pebble on the bottom! It was like walking through the pages of a calendar!
On our way back toward Qualicum Beach, we stopped at a cheeseworks that was advertised in the tourist brochure. It was a cute, family-oriented place with chickens, pigs, sheep, goats and cows. Humorous signs labeled each area and explained a bit about the animals. There was also a windowed building where you could watch the cheese preparation process — but the signs admitted it was as exciting as watching paint dry! In the little gift shop, they had tubs of cheese cut into small cubes, with toothpicks so you could sample the various kinds. We couldn’t resist buying a bag of squeaky curds to nibble on.
Our next destination was the beach, which we had seen in our travels today but wanted to get out and experience. A wide expanse of shore line overlooked the strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland, and in the distance we could see blue mountains topped with snow, and crowned with white puffy clouds. The beach itself was not sandy, but made of small rocks rounded by the constant surf. A few shells could be seen, and some seaweed. Val waded into the water but found the footing to be a bit unstable without water shoes. He said the water was nice.
We christened our new gas barbeque that we bought yesterday at Canadian Tire by cooking up some tasty pork chops for supper. Rounded out with fresh salad, cherries for dessert and a nice cup of tea, it brought a lovely day to a very pleasant close.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Good omens
Monday, July 14, 2008
PARKSVILLE, VANCOUVER ISLAND — It took us all of five minutes to set up camp tonight at the lovely Riverbend Resort next to the Englishman River. We drove the camper into our slot and connected the electricity. That was it! The other three minutes were the time we took to remember which locked port on the camper’s sides would open to reveal the electrical wire.
The day began with a quick call to Canadream to ensure that a camper truck was, indeed, set aside for our use as arranged via the Internet several weeks ago. We had been told that pickup time would be between one and four in the afternoon, so we were planning on a leisurely morning. However, they told us that they would pick us up at the hotel at 10 o’clock, so that speeded up our schedule considerably.
Our driver told us that the clientele of Canadream in Vancouver, which had some 400 RVs in circulation, was nearly 80 per cent German, Swiss or Dutch! He was German himself, and the girl who prepared our paper work was Swiss. Stephan, the young man who said he would show us the ropes of our camper truck, hailed from Sri Lanka, so it was a very cosmopolitan crew.
As we walked with Stephan to the parking area where our rig awaited us, one camper truck stood out from the others, because in the whole row of white vehicles, the white camper insert was set atop a red Ford truck, just like our own truck at home, except a few years newer! We were delighted — and I took it to be a very good omen.
After a quick tour of the rig, inside and out, we transferred our belongings from our suitcases to the camper, stowed the empty bags in the Canadream storage room (free of charge), signed all the papers and headed for the ferry.
We had made reservations for a spot on the 5:45 ferry, because of our understanding about pickup times for the camper, so with this much earlier start (it was barely noon by this time), we wondered whether we’d be able to catch an earlier trip over to the island. The lady at the ferry booth reassured us that, if we didn’t make the 12:45 sailing, we’d get on the 3:45 for sure, so at any rate we’d be on our way earlier than expected.
Off we went to the lineup with just a few minutes to sailing time. It looked as though they had cut off the line at the truck and trailer just ahead of us in the line, but at the last minute the flag man asked us the length of our rig and decided he could squeeze us on! So on we went and moments later, we were sailing away!
We had a light lunch on board the ferry and then sat back to watch the water and the blue mountains in the distance. About an hour later, the captain came on the PA system to point out a pod of dolphins coming by on the port side, so I went to the window on that side, and a few minutes later a good two dozen of them swam past, arching their shiny backs above the water and plunging down again. It was a wonderful sight!
We finally arrived at Nanaimo and headed north toward Parksville and our campground. On the way, we stopped to pick up our groceries and a few supplies at a mall by the highway. It was about 5 o’clock by the time we got settled at our site. It’s a lovely spot, with tall cedar trees and evergreens everywhere, and the sound of the river flowing past.
We were too tired to get fancy about supper, so we made sandwiches and then went for a short stroll. It’s beautifully quiet, so I am sure we will sleep well tonight.
PARKSVILLE, VANCOUVER ISLAND — It took us all of five minutes to set up camp tonight at the lovely Riverbend Resort next to the Englishman River. We drove the camper into our slot and connected the electricity. That was it! The other three minutes were the time we took to remember which locked port on the camper’s sides would open to reveal the electrical wire.
The day began with a quick call to Canadream to ensure that a camper truck was, indeed, set aside for our use as arranged via the Internet several weeks ago. We had been told that pickup time would be between one and four in the afternoon, so we were planning on a leisurely morning. However, they told us that they would pick us up at the hotel at 10 o’clock, so that speeded up our schedule considerably.
Our driver told us that the clientele of Canadream in Vancouver, which had some 400 RVs in circulation, was nearly 80 per cent German, Swiss or Dutch! He was German himself, and the girl who prepared our paper work was Swiss. Stephan, the young man who said he would show us the ropes of our camper truck, hailed from Sri Lanka, so it was a very cosmopolitan crew.
As we walked with Stephan to the parking area where our rig awaited us, one camper truck stood out from the others, because in the whole row of white vehicles, the white camper insert was set atop a red Ford truck, just like our own truck at home, except a few years newer! We were delighted — and I took it to be a very good omen.
After a quick tour of the rig, inside and out, we transferred our belongings from our suitcases to the camper, stowed the empty bags in the Canadream storage room (free of charge), signed all the papers and headed for the ferry.
We had made reservations for a spot on the 5:45 ferry, because of our understanding about pickup times for the camper, so with this much earlier start (it was barely noon by this time), we wondered whether we’d be able to catch an earlier trip over to the island. The lady at the ferry booth reassured us that, if we didn’t make the 12:45 sailing, we’d get on the 3:45 for sure, so at any rate we’d be on our way earlier than expected.
Off we went to the lineup with just a few minutes to sailing time. It looked as though they had cut off the line at the truck and trailer just ahead of us in the line, but at the last minute the flag man asked us the length of our rig and decided he could squeeze us on! So on we went and moments later, we were sailing away!
We had a light lunch on board the ferry and then sat back to watch the water and the blue mountains in the distance. About an hour later, the captain came on the PA system to point out a pod of dolphins coming by on the port side, so I went to the window on that side, and a few minutes later a good two dozen of them swam past, arching their shiny backs above the water and plunging down again. It was a wonderful sight!
We finally arrived at Nanaimo and headed north toward Parksville and our campground. On the way, we stopped to pick up our groceries and a few supplies at a mall by the highway. It was about 5 o’clock by the time we got settled at our site. It’s a lovely spot, with tall cedar trees and evergreens everywhere, and the sound of the river flowing past.
We were too tired to get fancy about supper, so we made sandwiches and then went for a short stroll. It’s beautifully quiet, so I am sure we will sleep well tonight.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Golden raspberries at Granville Island
Sunday, July 13, 2008
VANCOUVER — Our free day prior to connecting with our camper truck began with a hearty breakfast at the hotel, after which we set out on foot to catch the city bus to Granville Island. We were headed there to connect with the Big Red Bus tour, a hop-on, hop-off circuit through the city of Vancouver complete with narratives of the city’s history and sights.
We were blessed with a lovely sunny day with temperatures in the low 20s; ideal for sight-seeing. The Big Red Bus was a double-decker, and we opted for the upper level for our first segment. It was fun to hear about the early days when the area was heavily forested, and to look at all the skyscrapers that stand tall against the sky in a new forest of concrete and glass.
Having been here two or three times before in recent years, I recognized quite a few locations, but was nevertheless glad to learn a bit about their history. When we arrived on Water St. in Gastown, we decided to hop off and grab a bite of lunch. There was a nice sidewalk café, on the shady side of the street no less, with a perfect little table for two where we could enjoy our meal and take in the passing throng. We both savoured a roasted vegetable sandwich with goat cheese in a foccacia bun, and shared a salad and fries between us. It hit the spot nicely.
As if it were scheduled for our convenience, the next Big Red Bus pulled up at the stop just as we got to it, and we resumed the circuit, passing Canada Place on the harbour, which was sandwiched on either side by two huge cruise ships. One was a Holland America vessel, but we passed it end-on, so we couldn’t see the name. It was one of those "dam" ships, anyway!
The city was full of people bustling to and fro, and we passed lots of lovely pots of flowers in front of buildings or swaying from hooks above the sidewalks. There were lots of Asian faces in the crowds, reminding us of the city’s gateway status to the Pacific rim countries.
It was fun to see glimpses of other people’s lives. There passed a young family, mum, dad and baby strapped on mum’s back, each one with their Tilley-style hat shielding them from the sun. On the city bus, a man in a motorized wheel-chair maneuvered his way on board and into the special parking space for wheelchairs, and announced to anyone who would listen that he had located his brother and sister after 36 years and was heading into town to meet the brother. He was then heading for Victoria to reunite with his sister.
We reached Granville Island again — our starting point — at around 2:30, and strolled down to the edge of the water where the markets were, on the land side, and where scores of sailboats of all descriptions bobbed on the water nearby. Being a Sunday afternoon, the place was hopping with visitors, and a number of talented buskers who performed on guitars, pan pipes or violins in the hope of garnering a few coins.
The public market was a feast for the eyeballs, with mounds of brightly coloured fruits and vegetables, flowers, sausages, cheeses, crafts and jewelry jammed side by side along aisles where shoppers browsed and jostled one another quite happily. We even discovered that there is such a thing as yellow raspberries (or "golden" ones, as they were labeled)! Hand-crafted pottery, dresses, leather goods and one-of-a-kind scarves, purses and jewelry filled small shops that we passed by.
We connected with Johan, who sailed across False Creek to the island in an oval tugboat ferry from the other side to meet us. We found a shady table at a small hotel where we sipped lemonade, pop and beer respectively and caught up on our news. Then, as supper hour approached, we walked over to Broadway St and found a small pizzeria for more food! We were ready to head home after that. I’m sure we covered quite a few kilometers by the time we got back to the hotel. It was a great way to discover this vibrant, upbeat city all over again.
VANCOUVER — Our free day prior to connecting with our camper truck began with a hearty breakfast at the hotel, after which we set out on foot to catch the city bus to Granville Island. We were headed there to connect with the Big Red Bus tour, a hop-on, hop-off circuit through the city of Vancouver complete with narratives of the city’s history and sights.
We were blessed with a lovely sunny day with temperatures in the low 20s; ideal for sight-seeing. The Big Red Bus was a double-decker, and we opted for the upper level for our first segment. It was fun to hear about the early days when the area was heavily forested, and to look at all the skyscrapers that stand tall against the sky in a new forest of concrete and glass.
Having been here two or three times before in recent years, I recognized quite a few locations, but was nevertheless glad to learn a bit about their history. When we arrived on Water St. in Gastown, we decided to hop off and grab a bite of lunch. There was a nice sidewalk café, on the shady side of the street no less, with a perfect little table for two where we could enjoy our meal and take in the passing throng. We both savoured a roasted vegetable sandwich with goat cheese in a foccacia bun, and shared a salad and fries between us. It hit the spot nicely.
As if it were scheduled for our convenience, the next Big Red Bus pulled up at the stop just as we got to it, and we resumed the circuit, passing Canada Place on the harbour, which was sandwiched on either side by two huge cruise ships. One was a Holland America vessel, but we passed it end-on, so we couldn’t see the name. It was one of those "dam" ships, anyway!
The city was full of people bustling to and fro, and we passed lots of lovely pots of flowers in front of buildings or swaying from hooks above the sidewalks. There were lots of Asian faces in the crowds, reminding us of the city’s gateway status to the Pacific rim countries.
It was fun to see glimpses of other people’s lives. There passed a young family, mum, dad and baby strapped on mum’s back, each one with their Tilley-style hat shielding them from the sun. On the city bus, a man in a motorized wheel-chair maneuvered his way on board and into the special parking space for wheelchairs, and announced to anyone who would listen that he had located his brother and sister after 36 years and was heading into town to meet the brother. He was then heading for Victoria to reunite with his sister.
We reached Granville Island again — our starting point — at around 2:30, and strolled down to the edge of the water where the markets were, on the land side, and where scores of sailboats of all descriptions bobbed on the water nearby. Being a Sunday afternoon, the place was hopping with visitors, and a number of talented buskers who performed on guitars, pan pipes or violins in the hope of garnering a few coins.
The public market was a feast for the eyeballs, with mounds of brightly coloured fruits and vegetables, flowers, sausages, cheeses, crafts and jewelry jammed side by side along aisles where shoppers browsed and jostled one another quite happily. We even discovered that there is such a thing as yellow raspberries (or "golden" ones, as they were labeled)! Hand-crafted pottery, dresses, leather goods and one-of-a-kind scarves, purses and jewelry filled small shops that we passed by.
We connected with Johan, who sailed across False Creek to the island in an oval tugboat ferry from the other side to meet us. We found a shady table at a small hotel where we sipped lemonade, pop and beer respectively and caught up on our news. Then, as supper hour approached, we walked over to Broadway St and found a small pizzeria for more food! We were ready to head home after that. I’m sure we covered quite a few kilometers by the time we got back to the hotel. It was a great way to discover this vibrant, upbeat city all over again.
On our way
Welcome to the Zanin blog of our Vancounver Island holiday!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
VANCOUVER — Even though we’ve done all kinds of traveling, it still seems amazing that you can wake up in Ottawa and go to bed the same day on the other side of the country. We’re in rather a dreamy state by the end of it, though, I have to say.
We jumped out of bed just before six and did a thousand last-minute things before locking the door and climbing into the cab. Then we lolled about in the airport departure lounge for an age, comforted at least that our early arrival improved the chances that our luggage would get on the plane and arrive at our destination when we did.
Then we mashed ourselves into our teeny-tiny plane seats and, over the next five hours, had all our bodily moisture sucked out of us, and our eardrums flexed and unflexed countless times. Val decided to view a movie on a screen the size of a picture postcard, and winced when the loud parts blasted him through the earphones, because if the volume wasn’t pumped up, he wouldn’t catch the quieter dialogue over the hissing of the air system! I don’t think movies are worth watching under those circumstances. So I slept instead.
We were treated to some magnificent views of the Rocky Mountains toward the end of the flight. It was a perfectly clear day most of the way, and it was amazing to see those majestic peaks, dusted with snow, and carved out with rivers and green lakes. The city of Vancouver was a welcome and beautiful sight as well as we came down to earth again.
It didn’t take long for me to finally feel normal again, instead of like a dried up husk (despite having consumed a full bottle of water plus two glasses of juice in flight). We connected with the hotel shuttle, settled into our room and went out to find lunch nearby. Cravings, as the restaurant was called, dished up a nice halibut soup followed by frittata for Val and a delicious salad for me with red grapefruit sections, mesclun leaves and a generous sprinkling of cashews and pine nuts, topped with a raspberry vinaigrette. Yum.
Both of us were ready for a rest by this time, so we indulged in an afternoon nap that helped recalibrate our internal clocks somewhat. We went for a stroll in the neighbourhood around the hotel — a rather non-descript residential quarter with low-rise apartment buildings.
For dinner, Johan joined us at the hotel and we took the shuttle to The Boathouse, a seafood restaurant they recommended, and enjoyed a delicious dinner of halibut (Val and me) and salmon (Johan), complete with fresh warm sourdough bread, wine and desserts all around. (Mine was free, compliments of the hotel!). Val had sourdough bread pudding, Johan chose the mocha ice cream pie, and I savoured white and dark chocolate mousse cake.
As we sat and chatted, I realized I was pretty tired. After all, it was around midnight Ottawa time. Our travels were catching up with us! It was great to catch up with my brother (who is looking well and happy), but the hotel bed was looking more and more inviting.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
VANCOUVER — Even though we’ve done all kinds of traveling, it still seems amazing that you can wake up in Ottawa and go to bed the same day on the other side of the country. We’re in rather a dreamy state by the end of it, though, I have to say.
We jumped out of bed just before six and did a thousand last-minute things before locking the door and climbing into the cab. Then we lolled about in the airport departure lounge for an age, comforted at least that our early arrival improved the chances that our luggage would get on the plane and arrive at our destination when we did.
Then we mashed ourselves into our teeny-tiny plane seats and, over the next five hours, had all our bodily moisture sucked out of us, and our eardrums flexed and unflexed countless times. Val decided to view a movie on a screen the size of a picture postcard, and winced when the loud parts blasted him through the earphones, because if the volume wasn’t pumped up, he wouldn’t catch the quieter dialogue over the hissing of the air system! I don’t think movies are worth watching under those circumstances. So I slept instead.
We were treated to some magnificent views of the Rocky Mountains toward the end of the flight. It was a perfectly clear day most of the way, and it was amazing to see those majestic peaks, dusted with snow, and carved out with rivers and green lakes. The city of Vancouver was a welcome and beautiful sight as well as we came down to earth again.
It didn’t take long for me to finally feel normal again, instead of like a dried up husk (despite having consumed a full bottle of water plus two glasses of juice in flight). We connected with the hotel shuttle, settled into our room and went out to find lunch nearby. Cravings, as the restaurant was called, dished up a nice halibut soup followed by frittata for Val and a delicious salad for me with red grapefruit sections, mesclun leaves and a generous sprinkling of cashews and pine nuts, topped with a raspberry vinaigrette. Yum.
Both of us were ready for a rest by this time, so we indulged in an afternoon nap that helped recalibrate our internal clocks somewhat. We went for a stroll in the neighbourhood around the hotel — a rather non-descript residential quarter with low-rise apartment buildings.
For dinner, Johan joined us at the hotel and we took the shuttle to The Boathouse, a seafood restaurant they recommended, and enjoyed a delicious dinner of halibut (Val and me) and salmon (Johan), complete with fresh warm sourdough bread, wine and desserts all around. (Mine was free, compliments of the hotel!). Val had sourdough bread pudding, Johan chose the mocha ice cream pie, and I savoured white and dark chocolate mousse cake.
As we sat and chatted, I realized I was pretty tired. After all, it was around midnight Ottawa time. Our travels were catching up with us! It was great to catch up with my brother (who is looking well and happy), but the hotel bed was looking more and more inviting.
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